Henin faces Petrova in Brisbane opener

Brisbane :

Former world No. 1 Justine Henin faces a tough first-round match in her official comeback tournament after drawing second-seeded Nadia Petrova at the Brisbane International.

Henin, a wild card, was the last player drawn in the 32-women field, ironically conducted by Petrova. The Russian gave a rueful smile as she turned Henin's name card over at a public draw in downtown Brisbane on Saturday.

U.S. Open champion and Henin's fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters will play Italian Tathiana Garbin on Sunday at Pat Rafter Arena. Henin plays Petrova on Monday.

Men's top seed Andy Roddick drew Australian Davis Cup player Peter Luczak, while fellow American James Blake will play fifth-seeded compatriot Sam Querry.

Henin spent 117 weeks at No. 1 and has seven Grand Slam titles. She announced her comeback in September, soon after Clijsters won the U.S. Open.

Clijsters and Henin are on opposite sides of the draw and could meet in the Brisbane final.

Henin said earlier this week she has matured during her 20-month break from tennis and expects to be a better player on her return to the tour.

"I believe I can be a better player, I believe I can use my experience more than in the past," Henin said. "When you are into (playing tennis at) 200 percent you have no time to realize it. You are too involved all the time and all this time off helped me to realize everything I achieved."