Justin Henin returned to the WTA tour with a 7-5 7-5 victory over Russia's Nadia Petrova in the first round of the Brisbane International.
Former number one returns to action with victory
Justin Henin returned to the WTA tour with a 7-5 7-5 victory over Russia's Nadia Petrova in the first round of the Brisbane International.
The Belgian, who retired from tennis 20 months ago at the age of 26, announced her comeback in September and made her return a winning one by ousting the second seed.
Henin is playing in Brisbane, Sydney and the Australian Open in Melbourne thanks to wildcard invitations after slipping out of the rankings during her absence.
However, the former world number one pretty much returned where she left off in May 2008, crucially breaking Petrova in the eighth game of the second set to seal victory.
"I feel better today than when I retired, that's for sure," Henin said. "Better emotionally, mentally, better with myself and that makes a big difference that I will enjoy being on the tour again.
Touched
"Of course it was emotional. It's a big step my first match. I've been waiting for this moment for so long. Finally, I walked on the court. The crowd... I was really touched. At the beginning, everything seemed very big: the stadium, all the people. I'm not used to it anymore.
"Everything went well. I have a lot to work on, but for a first match, a first tough round, I can be really positive today."
Being more aggressive on her serve has been a priority in recent months for the diminutive Belgian, who knows she needs to earn more easy points against the bigger women on the tour to remain competitive.
"I worked very hard and changed a few things in my game," she said. "I think physically, if I want to stay on tour for a few more years I have no choice (but) to be more aggressive."
An easier match against qualifier Sesil Karatantcheva of Kazakhstan, who beat Australia's Casey Dellacqua 6-2 0-6 7-6, awaits.
Winning start
Another former French Open champion, Ana Ivanovic, made a winning start with a 7-5 1-6 6-3 victory over Jelena Dokic.
The Serbian has not been in action since Tokyo in September and has slipped to 21st in the world rankings following a dismal 2009 that failed to dish up a title.
"Obviously there were nerves in the beginning, but I did a really good preparation and that gave me a lot of confidence," she said.
"I thought I was serving and moving a lot better than my previous match, which has been a while, so it's definitely good to have a victory under the belt."
