Tim Henman says his form this year has been "average" but he retains high hopes of reaching the Wimbledon final.
The British No 1 has dropped to eighth in the world after failing to win an ATP Tour title this year, and suffered an early exit from the French Open where he had reached the semi-finals last year.
Henman, though, has always fared better on grass, and will warm up for another crack at the All England Club in this week's Stella Artois Championships at Queen's, where he has finished runner-up on three occasions.
The 30-year-old accepts some of his problems this year have been down to injury but believes he is getting back to the type of form which enabled him to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon four times.
He said: "I have had some good spells where I have played some pretty good tennis. I have had some struggles in the early part of the year which were really dominated by my back and I felt pretty unhappy with the way I felt on the court.
"It took me a while to get that sorted and, when I did, I felt my form was good. The clay was OK, not as good as last year, but I always felt it was going to be a tough act to follow from 12 months ago.
"I do feel, though, really good about the up-coming grass-court tournaments. My results have been average this year but I do feel good about certain aspects of my game and obviously with coming on to the grass, that has been a happy hunting ground for me. I will never get fed up about Wimbledon because it is the pinnacle of our game.
"I have been pretty consistent over the last ten years but the semis has been my best. I have got to try to improve on that, and that is certainly the aim."
Henman could find his nemesis standing between him and a first grass-court title. He is scheduled to meet top seed and three-time champion Lleyton Hewitt in the semi-finals.
Hewitt has won all eight of the previous meetings between the pair, including the final at Queen's in 2001 and 2002, although he has been out of action for several months after suffering a cracked rib.
As No 3 seed Henman has been given a bye in the first round before facing either Lars Burgsmuller or Robby Ginepri.
Henman has been practising on grass since his early exit from the French Open and will be hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's performance, when he lost in three sets to Karol Beck in his only competitive match on the surface before Wimbledon.
He said: "Losing so early at the French Open was disappointing but every cloud has a silver lining. Last year I suffered because I had very little time to rest and get used to the grass after Paris.
"This year it's been nice not to have to rush things. I feel good physically and it was nice to feel the grass beneath my feet last week.
"This is undoubtedly my favourite time of the year. I spend most of the year stuck in hotels so it's really nice to be able to stay at home and spend time with my family while competing.
"Obviously I love playing on grass. It never takes me that long to get used to it as my game tends to lend itself to it naturally."
Defending champion Andy Roddick has been handed a tough opening tie against either former champion Mark Philippoussis or Raemon Sluiter.
Roddick, seeded second despite winning the title the last two years, has never faced 1997 champion Philippoussis who is returning from injury. The former Wimbledon finalist has not played on the ATP circuit since Miami where he suffered a left ankle injury.
Also in Roddick's half of the draw is British No 2 Greg Rusedski, who takes on fellow Briton Josh Goodall in the first round after he received a wild card.
