The Belgian is enthused after a spirited loss in her long awaited comeback. One match into her comeback, Kim Clijsters is preaching patience. The Belgian, who fell 6-2 7-6(6) to Garbiné Muguruza in round one action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, says it could take her a while to find a level of consistency that she is happy with.

After the loss, her first WTA match in seven and a half years, Clijsters came away with some very positive feelings, and an overall willingness to keep pushing herself in order to continue progressing in her comeback.

“I felt like for a while I was dominating some of the points,” 36-year-old Clijsters said on Monday in Dubai. “I think that's a good feeling to have, knowing the way I started the first set and then the way I was able to get back into that second set, with the type of tennis I played, it's something that is the positive about this match. I'll take that with me for the next matches.”

Clijsters is firm in her feeling that she has made the right decision about returning to the sport, and whether she can climb back to the top of the sport the way she did in her first comeback in 2009 does not seem to be of ultimate importance.

Seriously so so so proud of Kim Clijsters. You inspire me. Wow. Just wow congrats you did amazing.

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) February 18, 2020

“I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have that belief somehow,” she said on Monday. “It doesn't mean that this is a confirmation or something for me. It might take 10 matches to get the way I played in the second set, might take me 10 matches to get that from start to finish.I have patience, believe it or not. I'm going to, yeah, work my way into it and fight. We'll see what happens.

For those who were wondering if the game had passed Clijsters by during her absence, the first test has given the four-time major champion a lot of reinforcement that this is not the case. She did not look out of place from a ball-striking perspective against one of the tour’s premier baseliners. It was a loss but as far as losses go, extremely positive in that it indicated that Clijsters still has the ability to outhit the game’s most fierce pugilists.

I may have lost the match but for me this was a win. Being back on Court … that’s the feeling and energy I’ve missed and loved finding it again. Now looking forward to working together with my team to continue to grow and find my rhythm – step by step! 💪 #fortheloveofthegame pic.twitter.com/wFRcp4JaYq

— Kim Clijsters (@Clijsterskim) February 18, 2020

Clijsters expressed relief in that regard.

“I do feel a little bit of I'm not going to say relief, but a feeling of the pace I can handle,” she said. “Obviously she's probably not the hardest hitter out there. There's some girls that hit the ball a lot harder. I felt like I was able to go toe-to-toe with her from the baseline.