But a debilitating viral illness – which she is still attempting to shake off and which means she cannot play for more than three weeks in a row – threatens to undermine her chances here.

“I feel I am still recovering [from the French Open] right now,” Henin-Hardenne admitted.

“There has been a lot of pressure on me. You do not feel too tired during the tournament – but we will see how I am in two weeks’ time.”

Henin-Hardenne has a good record at Wimbledon – she lost to Venus Williams in the final in 2001 and has twice reached the semi-finals.

She defeated reigning Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova in the quarter-finals on her way to the title on the Paris clay – prompting the Russian teenager to suggest that matters would be different if the pair were to meet on grass.

And seventh seed Henin-Hardenne, who faces Greek player Eleni Daniilidou in round one, all-but endorsed Sharapova’s theory by suggesting she has only a slight chance of taking the championship.

She continued: “This tournament is another story, and I am not one of the favourites.

“There are other players who have a far better chance of winning than I do.

“Maria Sharapova will be strong, as will [top seed] Lindsay Davenport and the Williams sisters, and perhaps [fellow Belgian] Kim Clijsters.”

Henin-Hardenne’s memory of the 2001 final, which Venus Williams won in three sets, is overshadowed by the fact that her grandfather died on the same day.

But that, and her appearances in subsequent semi-finals, proves she has the game to succeed on grass.

She added: “I think grass is a very good surface for my game – but not for my personality.

“I get frustrated quickly, and the nature of the grass court means you have to be a bit more patient.

“The other players are hitting the ball very hard and they are very powerful, so perhaps I need to change my game.

“I have been consistent here in the past – but it has not been enough, so I must be more aggressive and more mentally strong.”

Meanwhile, number one seed Davenport recounted how she had almost quit the game last summer.

The American was beaten in the semi-finals by eventual champion Sharapova and considered retirement following a series of niggling injuries – but her subsequent form persuaded her otherwise.

She said: “I would never have guessed 12 months ago that I would be in this position today.

“I have been so healthy during the last year; nothing has kept me out for more than four weeks and nothing has pushed me back too far.

“For the first time in a long time I started to feel I had chances to win Grand Slams, and you can’t walk away in that situation.”

Davenport meets Russian Alina Jidkova in the first round.