Before Henin's self-enforced break, she reigned supreme on Parisian clay, winning the title on four out of the five previous years and she is already being picked to win.
Svetlana Kuznetsova won the tournament last year, beating Dinara Safina in a mediocre final, while Ana Ivanovic claimed the title the year before. Worthy champions as they were, neither came anywhere close to emulating the tennis conjured by Henin.
There are few better sights in tennis than the Belgian in full flow. At 5 feet 5, there is not much of her but she prowls the court like an old-fashioned gunslinger, thrashing clean winners and producing angles that defy mathematical explanation.
However, since returning to the Tour in January she has been steady rather than spectacular — not quite the impact that compatriot Kim Clijsters enjoyed when winning the U.S. Open last year after coming out of retirement.
Serena Williams stood between her and the Australian Open title at the start of the year — proof that not all Belgian women can take a lengthy career time-out and return directly to pocket a grand slam title.
Henin won her first title since returning last month on clay in Stuttgart yet bailed out in the first round of Madrid a week later and her game is not quite back to the level she was at in 2007 when she spent all but seven weeks ranked world number one.
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Serena has been troubled by a left knee injury since beating Henin in Melbourne and admitted last week she is struggling for sharpness.
For the first time for a while it is older sister Venus who could pose the biggest threat here, having not been past the fourth round since losing in the 2002 final.
With her 30th birthday just around the corner she might not get many more chances.
"I feel like I'm playing well, I feel confident in my game," said Venus, who has reached four finals this year.
With Denmark's third-ranked Caroline Wozniacki troubled by an ankle injury, former world No. 1 Dinara Safina yet to really recover from a back injury, Clijsters already ruled out and Kuznetsova just struggling for form, the stage is set for Henin.
"It's been very interesting the last few months and I have learned a lot of things and generally it's been pretty positive for myself," Henin said. "I feel I took the right decision to come back and it's been very exciting for me."
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