Justine Henin's comeback to the WTA Tour was never going to have quite the same impact as that of her compatriot Kim Clijsters.

Clijster swept the US Open title just three months after picking up a racket again.

The diminutive Henin preferred to shake off the rust in a more low-key fashion from the start of the 2010 season but the end result is likely to be the same as she muscles her own way back into Grand Slam contention.

Henin duly claimed her first tour title since her comeback in Stuttgart at the weekend, when she snapped the long winning run of Australian Samantha Stosur to win the title - and a new Porsche while she was at it - in three sets.

It is no surprise that Henin's relatively belated re-emergence should come in the clay-court season, on a favourite surface which yielded four French Open titles and no fewer than 13 others on the surface.

And it suggests when Roland Garros rolls round again, Henin will be in a prime position to emulate her long-term rival Clijsters and also pick up her first Grand Slam crown since coming out of retirement.

For now, Henin insists she is still concentrating on the basics. "I never thought I'd even be back in Stuttgart a year ago," Henin said. "For my first title to be on clay, it means a lot to me.

"It has been a lot of work but I am ready for it now. It's great to be back and to share my emotions with everybody. I have had a fantastic week in Stuttgart. Everything has been perfect."

Doubtless Henin, who made a specific point of targeting an elusive first Wimbledon title when she announced her comeback late last year, would pour scorn on the notion that a fourth French Open title awaits.

But those at the French Open will relish watching her try. No single tournament was affected quite as badly by Henin's sudden and unexpected decision to retire than Roland Garros.

In Henin's absence, the tournament laboured through two forgettable and frankly sub-standard finals, with first Ana Ivanovic then Svetlana Kuznetsova taking advantage of Dinara Safina's inability to cope with big-match nerves.

The very fact Safina sailed through most of the last clay-court season almost unchallenged as the world number one said an awful lot about the lack of strength in depth on the circuit in the women's game.

Henin may still be in the process of rediscovering the form that once made her great. But if Stuttgart taught us anything last week, it is that even on half a tank Henin may have enough to finally emulate Clijsters and reign again at Roland Garros.