As she prepares to play her first match today, however, green-eyed Miss Schett is determined not to let all the attention turn her head. "I realise that I get a lot more attention but I just try and focus and practise like before and not get distracted by anything," she told Radio Wimbledon, the tournament's in-house radio station. 

Miss Schett, 25, who is nicknamed Babsi back home, nevertheless said she was flattered. "It's nice to hear - but my main thing here is to play tennis and to play well." 

Her current starring role at the greatest tennis tournament in the world belies her modest beginnings in the game. She was first spotted as a six-year-old whacking a tennis ball against the training wall at her local sports club with prodigious skill. 

The man who recognised her raw talent was high school teacher Max Asen. 

He said: "She had enormous talent but she didn't even have a racket of her own." 

Miss Schett was allowed to join the club, Turnerschaft Innsbruck, and was soon playing competitively. But her parents, especially her father Johannes, were almost too nervous to watch her play. Mr Asen said: "I once asked him over to watch a match of hers with me, but he only made it until the second game. Then he had to give in." 

Soon, the prodigy was flourishing on the Innsbruck tennis scene. Mr Asen said: "Already at the age of 11 her incredible potential was visible. Her touch was extraordinary." She was called Queen Bee by her clubmates. 

Now, more than a decade later, Miss Schett takes the time to sign autographs for a long queue of eager fans. Unsurprisingly perhaps, most are male. 

Outwardly calm before her first round clash with Croatian Silvija Talaja, Miss Schett, seeded 21 for the competition, said: "I'm looking forward to playing the first round. The weather is great. I feel good on grass and it's going to be nice for sure." 

She beat world number two and defending Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the French Open and says that victory has given her 

fresh confidence. "I didn't play well in tournaments before that so I really needed that win. Right now I'm a lot more confident than I was." 

However Miss Schett, who is world ranked 23, will not take any game for granted: "I take it round by round. You have to take every opponent seriously - I just try my best and see how far I get." 

Unlike Miss Kournikova, Miss Schett has three singles titles under her belt. Babsi is more than just a pretty face.