Justine Henin was "not ready" to defeat Serena Williams in the Australian Open, according to her coach Carlos Rodriguez.

The 27-year-old lost a memorable three-set battle with the American 6-4 3-6 6-2 in just her second tournament back from a 20-month retirement.

Henin also reached the final of her comeback tournament in Brisbane earlier this month, when she lost to Kim Clijsters, but Rodriguez believe his protege is still six months away from being able to beat the best.

"I think we can see on the court that she was not ready to beat somebody like Serena," he said.

"Maybe in three or four or six months, I don't know, (she needs) more matches. After more emotional situations like this, maybe she's going to be ready then.

"(We're) disappointed because we always try to win.

"But I think the best player won. That's the first thing to say, she's better than Justine.

"Now for me and Justine we try to find out how we going to do better in the next match or in the next month."

Rodriguez has been Henin's coach since 1995 and has been a guiding hand to the Belgian since her return.

He indicated the seven-time grand slam winner would now take a break after a hectic first month back on the tour, with the events at Indian Wells at the start of March her next likely appearance.

"We're going to stop now and work on the physical skills and more specific things in her game.

"Maybe take a little bit more time to find a way to manage different situations also.

"Not only a question of technique, try to manage the emotions and the tactics to serve. I cannot say better for sure but (we need to improve) the serve and important points."

For Henin stepping in the unknown of a comeback had been a daunting prospect and she admitted she had felt vindicated in her decision to return by the success she achieved.

"I didn't know really what to expect. I was ready to live the best and the worst and it was all very good until the end," she said.

"I was curious about what my level would be and how I was going to deal with just the atmosphere on and off the court, how it would feel.

"I felt I took the right decision, so it's good enough for me already.

"I got the results also in the last four weeks - two finals. So I can be really happy about that."

She added: "I have some goals but I just don't want to look too far.

"Everything went pretty fast in the last four weeks. It's just time to calm down and think about the future."