Justine Henin-Hardenne said she was pleased with her comeback from illness and injury at the Nasdaq-100 Open despite Tuesday's 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 quarter-final loss to Maria Sharapova [Images].

"What I did after seven months off, it's good," said the former world number one, who was playing her first tournament since the U.S. Open last September.

"It's very good for the future. I showed that I'm back. I'm so happy to be back on the courts. I know I need matches, I need more competition, but it's very good for the next tournaments."

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Henin-Hardenne's return to competition marked the end of what has been a trying 12 months for the three-times grand slam champion.

A year ago the Belgian was diagnosed with the virus mononucleosis and though she attempted to defend her French Open title, a second round loss at Roland Garros persuaded her to return to her sickbed.

She made a triumphant return in August by winning the Olympic gold medal in Athens but after a fourth round defeat at the U.S. Open she did not play again, choosing instead to spend the rest of 2004 recuperating.

This year did not start well when she sustained a knee injury while preparing for January's Australian Open.

"A lot of things happened in a year and I lost a lot of confidence," she said.

"For sure I'm disappointed that I lost today because every time I go on the court, it's to win. But I have to be patient. I think it's been big step for me this week, and I hope I can keep going this way."

Henin-Hardenne now plans to play claycourt events in Charleston, Warsaw and Berlin in preparation for the French Open, which starts on 23 May.

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