© Getty Images / G Cole

Over the past six weeks the Belgian number three seed has been a busy lady pocketing her third Roland Garros singles title and a victory at Eastbourne.

But the 24-year-old’s dream of completing a career Grand Slam and becoming Belgium’s first ever Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion was shattered after she bowed out in three sets to the number one seed.

After the match, Henin-Hardenne admitted she felt somewhat weary going into the final – the result of playing 18 matches in six weeks. “I wasn’t maybe fresh enough to win this match. I don’t know,” she said.

“It’s a bit hard to lose in the final here, but I have to keep [in mind] what went pretty well in the last few weeks. I played a lot, so now I will need a little bit of a break. It’s been pretty tough emotionally, mentally maybe more than physically in these last few weeks.”

In fact, the last time Mauresmo and Henin-Hardenne faced each other in a Grand Slam final was in Melbourne Park at the 2006 Australian Open. But it was the Frenchwoman who emerged the victor after illness forced the Belgian to withdraw early in the second set.

Today, Henin-Hardenne praised Mauresmo’s solid serving: “She never came down on her serve. She was serving great, a lot of first serves. That’s been probably the biggest difference between us today.”

The Belgian admitted she was playing ‘far from her best’ tennis. After winning the first set with a comfortable 6-2 score-line, Henin-Hardenne suddenly found herself 0-3 down following a momentary lapse of concentration.

“I tried to stay in the set,” she said. “It was only one break at the time. I came back at 4-3 and she was playing better at the time. But I wasn’t aggressive enough and the match turned completely. In the third set I really tried to stay in the match and I kept fighting to the end but she kept serving well. There is nothing to say. She’s been more consistent on her serve. I didn’t serve very good today. It’s a bit hard but it’s OK.”

Henin-Hardenne may be disappointed but she already has an impressive CV when it comes to Grand Slam titles. The first she scooped was Roland Garros in 2003. This was followed up with a win at the US Open in the same year and a victory at the Australian Open in 2004. The Belgian also picked up the French Open titles in 2005 and, again, earlier this year.

But Henin-Hardenne realises she was only one set away from winning Wimbledon and does not think it is impossible to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back. “I think I can do it. I could do it,” she said. “I think I’ve been pretty good at turning the page from the French Open and get focused here. I wanted so much to win here but it didn’t happen this year so I’ll come back.”