BRISBANE, Australia (AP)—Justine Henin had barely finished off her first win since coming out of retirement when talk of her winning an eighth Grand Slam singles title began in earnest Monday.
Henin beat second-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia 7-5, 7-5 in the first round of the Brisbane International, her first official tour match since announcing her comeback in September.
Petrova said Henin was a better, more aggressive player than she was when she quit the tour in May 2008 and had no doubt the 27-year-old Belgian could win another Grand Slam title.
“That’s why she’s back. She’s hungry to win Wimbledon,” Petrova said before Henin attended her first post-match news conference in 20 months. “The changes she’s done in her game is actually leading toward that.”
Henin spent a combined 117 weeks at No. 1 in the rankings, winning seven majors, an Olympic gold medal and 41 WTA titles.
“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.”
Ana Ivanovic won her first match since September, while No. 4 Daniela Hantuchova and No. 6 Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada also advanced. No. 5 Alisa Kleybanova lost to fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Top-seeded Andy Roddick beat Australia’s Peter Luczak 7-6 (5), 6-2 in a night match, his first since withdrawing at Shanghai with a knee injury in October.
Defending men’s champion Radek Stepanek won in straight sets, and Richard Gasquet beat Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in his first match since the Court of Arbitration for Sport last month rejected an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency against the Frenchman being cleared of wrongdoing after traces of cocaine were discovered in a March drug test.
Henin’s victory Monday followed exhibition wins last month, including one over Petrova in Cairo.
“It’s a big step my first match. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long,” Henin said. “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.”
Henin said it only took three or four games to settle back into the rhythm.
“Mentally, I was able to play my best when the score was tight at the end of both sets,” she said. “I really enjoyed being out there—that’s what I’m going to remember 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.
Petrova said she’d watch with interest as Henin and Kim Clijsters, another Belgian who made a tour comeback last year shortly before winning the U.S. Open, progressed in Brisbane. She said she’d tip Henin in the Belgian duel, saying Clijsters might have trouble keeping up in the rallies. Clijsters plays Australia’s Alicia Molik in the second round on Tuesday.
Henin is playing in Brisbane this week and Sydney next week on wild card entries as she prepares for the Australian Open, her first major in two years.
She will next play qualifier Sesil Karatantcheva of Kazakhstan, who beat Australia’s Casey Dellacqua 6-2, 0-6, 7-6 (1).
Third-seeded Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, won the last three games to finish off a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 win over Australian Jelena Dokic 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.
The 21-year-old Serb hasn’t played since a first-round exit at Tokyo in September, which followed a disappointing first-round loss at the U.S. Open.
After one match back and with a No. 21-ranking, she’s aiming to return to the top 10 and play in the year-end championship.
“Obviously there were nerves in the beginning, but I did a really good preparation and that gave me a lot of confidence,” she said.
Roddick said his left knee felt fine and he was happy with his fitness heading into the Australian Open.
“I by no means expected to come in after four months and breeze right into it,” he said. “First rounds are always a bit dicey. I was hitting it all right towards the end, so that’s a good thing.”
In other men’s first-round results, Colombia’s Alejandro Falla beat seventh-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 6-4 and eighth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil defeated Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.