On Tuesday, Andre Agassi will be playing his first match at Wimbledon since 2003.

WIMBLEDON, England — The groundskeepers were waiting to take down the net for the night by the time Andre Agassi finished his practice session Friday at Wimbledon.

He hit for more than two hours with Fernando Gonzalez, relishing his return to the All England Club but struggling to play catch-up.

Hampered by chronic back trouble, the 36-year-old Agassi has played only eight matches this year, and just one since mid-March — a loss in straight sets to Tim Henman last week at Queen's Club.

On Tuesday, he'll give it another try, playing his first match at Wimbledon since 2003.

"The body hasn't been right for a while now," he said. "It's hard to have my expectations too high. At the same time, if I can just get a match or two under my belt, I'm definitely hoping to be in position to cause some problems for some of the big boys."

It's strange to hear Agassi speak of himself as an underdog, but he's seeded 25th, and oddsmakers list his championship chances at 75-1 or worse. The draw Friday paired him in the first round against Boris Pashanski, ranked 69th and making his Wimbledon debut.

Agassi won the first of his eight Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 1992.

"This is where it all sort of began for me," he said.

And how's his back?

"I've made a lot of sacrifices to be back here healthy enough to get through it and enjoy it," he said. "I've been going about three hours a day. When I get to three out of five sets, I'll be able to answer more questions, but I'm good enough to give it a go."

Also making a Wimbledon comeback is No. 12-seeded Martina Hingis, who won the tournament at 16 in 1997 and returned to the tour in January from a long injury layoff. She'll play her first match at Wimbledon since 2001 when she faces Olga Savchuk.

Roger Federer will have to work hard from the start to earn a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title. Seeded No. 1, Federer faces a grass-court rematch against Richard Gasquet in the first round Monday, and four-time Wimbledon semifinalist Henman looms as a potential second-round opponent.

Federer edged Gasquet in the second round last week at Halle, Germany, 7-6 (7), 6-7 (7), 6-4, then went on to win the tournament for the fourth year in a row. If he beats Gasquet again, Federer would break the record of 41 consecutive grass-court victories he shares with Bjorn Borg.

"We had a tough match in Halle," Federer said, "so I expect similar."

Andy Roddick, runner-up to Federer the past two years, faces a tough path to another final. Potential obstacles include big-serving Scotsman Andy Murray in the third round, two-time semifinalist Sebastien Grosjean in the fourth round and 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt in the quarterfinals.