Second seed Nadia Petrova warned Justine Henin (9/2 Women’s Australian Open 2010) is “playing better tennis than before she retired” in response to her exit from the Brisbane International first round at the hands of the former world number one.

Henin was playing her first match since retiring in May 2008 but showed she had lost none of her fighting qualities in a tight 7-5 7-5 contest.

“I have been waiting for this moment for so long. I am so happy about what I did on court,” said the seven-time Grand Slam champion (Henin 9/2 Women’s Wimbledon 2010 Outright).

The win means Henin will next play qualifier Sesil Karatantcheva of Kazakhstan, who beat Australia’s Casey Dellacqua 6-2 0-6 7-6 (7-1), and Petrova said the best was yet to come from the Belgian.

She said: “Henin is playing better tennis than before she retired.”

“Everything went well,” admitted Henin. “I have a lot to work on but for a first match, a first tough round, I can be really positive.”