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SYDNEY - Belgium's Justine Henin made a triumphant return to professional tennis on Monday with a 7-5 7-5 win over Russia's Nadia Petrova in the first round of the Brisbane International.
Belgium's Justine Henin celebrates beating Russia's Nadia Petrova at the Brisbane International tennis tournament January 4, 2010. [Agencies] |
Playing her first official match since retiring in May 2008, Henin showed she had lost none of her fighting qualities as she ground out a hard-fought victory over the tournament's second seed.
Another former world number one, Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, registered her first win in almost five months by beating Australia's Jelena Dokic 7-5 1-6 6-3 in an earlier match.
Ivanovic, who has slipped to 21st in the world rankings after failing to win a tournament in 2009, overcame a lapse of concentration in the second set to see off Dokic, who contributed to her own downfall with 11 double-faults.