PARIS, May 21 (AFP) - A year ago she was almost unknown. Now, everyone knows all about Amelie Mauresmo. The powerful French player may be unseeded for next week's French Open at Roland Garros - but she still has a chance of mounting a realistic challenge for the women's title and is the player all the seeds want to avoid in the early rounds. It was at the German Open in Berlin last year that the then 18-year-old first made her mark. The former world junior champion, struggling to make it on the WTA Tour and ranked a modest 65, enjoyed an astonishing week. Starting in the qualifying competition, she marched all the way to the final by brushing aside Jana Novotna and Lindsay Davenport. Twelve months on, she returned to Berlin ranked in the top 10 in the world. Far from being a one tournament wonder - a player who enjoys a week of fame and then slips back into obscurity - Mauresmo followed up her Berlin performance in sensational style by reaching the final of the Australian Open in January. But it was more than her tennis that drew people's attention. Having come out of the shadows in Berlin with her on-court exploits, it was her private life and the revelation of a lesbian relationship that made the headlines Down Under. The acknowledgement of her sexual preference resulted in snide comments about her physical strength. Her powerful shoulders and fierce shots drew unflattering comments from Davenport, who she beat for a second time to reach her first Grand Slam final, and from Martina Hingis - who finally brought her sensational run to a close. Davenport claimed that Mauresmo played like a man, and Hingis said she was 'half a man', a remark she later denied making, even though it was recorded on tape. "It was like a release," said Mauresmo. "To get things clear, in front of journalists and in front of people. It was the normal thing for me to do, in my mind. There were all kinds of reactions, and I felt happy with the good reactions. "The bad ones, I felt if I had disappointed those kind of people then it didn't matter. That's how I've been able to handle what's been going on the last few months." Even though she had not intended to make her private life public, she had no fear of it eventually being revealed sooner or later. It didn't play on her mind that she would have to pay the price for her skill and fame and she didn't care who knew about it. "It came out in Australia because people were asking me why I played so well, so it was just normal and natural for me to say what was going on in my life. "Many would try to hide it, but in this little world of tennis everyone knows everything so I decided to make it clear. It would have come out anyway. "For a moment before the Australian Open final I was wondering why these people were against me. I wondered what was going on. But I think I've won over a lot of people. I've been receiving a lot of mail at home and people are delighted I was honest." The quiet dignity she showed in the centre of the media storm worked in her favour, as she discovered when she returned to France and in her very next tournament at the Paris Indoor event she reached her second final in succession. "When I came back to Paris I wondered how people were going to be and how they would react to what I'd said," she admitted. "And I went on court and they went crazy. People were so behind me and I think there was more emotion in Paris than in Australia." Mauresmo's current success is a far cry from the time, after leaving the junior ranks, that she thought she wasn't going to make the grade. She almost quit the sport. "A few times in my young career I thought I wasn't going to make it and it might be better to stop," she admitted. "But the people around me were always there when I needed them. They were encouraging me and pushing me to do it and telling me not to quit because I had the talent and that it was going to come." And when it did come, it surprised everyone, including Mauresmo. "It came very quickly, but I knew I had the talent and I was doing the right work to get to this level," she said. "I was surprised, but I knew I could get there. I'm still young, only 19 now, and it's the right time and I'm ready to handle what's going on. "Maybe I wouldn't have been ready six months or one year or two years ago. Now I'm ready and comfortable with what's going on." Because she was unable to follow up her stunning performance in Berlin this time, she lost her chance of a seeding at Roland Garros, being pipped for 16th slot by comaptriot Julie Halard-Decugis. Still, she's looking forward to the occasion. "It's going to be a lot of pressure and the people are expecting a lot of me, but as long as I give my best people will know," she said. "I hope I'm going to go far in the tournament and I'm looking forward to it. "If it happens to be not as good as I would expect then the most important thing for me is to give my best and give the crowd what they want."  