Tennis

Henin satisfied with return to competition

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-02-11 13:54

Top seed Justine Henin was satisfied with her return to competitive tennis despite bowing out to Czech Lucie Safarova 7-6 6-4 in the semi-final of the Paris Open on Saturday.

The tournament was Henin's first after a three-month break following a split from her husband.

"I'm back from very far so the defeat is logical," the French-speaking Belgian told a news conference.

"It is always disappointing to lose but you have to accept it to improve. Just being here was already a big chance."

Henin, who last year reached all four grand slam finals and won the French Open, said she would play the Dubai tournament starting on February 19.

"I have shown I am on the right path, even though I cannot draw conclusions on this week yet," she said.

"Today, I did not have a good feeling, I played too defensive.

"I was not feeling as good as in the previous rounds, I was a bit tired and she played very well, very aggressively."

The former world number one added: "Even when I was leading, I was not playing well."

Henin, whose last event was the season-ending Tour championships in Madrid in November, squandered a 5-2 lead in the first set and a 4-2 gap in the second against Safarova.

"She has a very good serve, I really struggled to read it, especially on my backhand," Henin said.

Before losing to Safarova, Henin, ranked second in the WTA standings, beat Frenchwomen Emilie Loit and Tatiana Golovin in three sets.