Four years since her last grand slam title, Maria Sharapova still believes her best tennis is yet to come after being overwhelmingly outclassed in the Australian Open final by Victoria Azarenka.

Sharapova graciously acknowledged Azarenka was too good in her 6-3 6-0 demolition on Saturday night, but the fact she was one win away from regaining the No.1 ranking and was back in a grand slam final gives hope.

“It’s a positive, because I didn’t know what to expect from myself coming into this event,” she said.

“I didn’t know at what level I’d play. I didn’t play for so many months and I had a pretty tough injury.

“I’m certainly happy with the level that I produced in the six matches.

“Today I faced someone that came out who was too good and my level was not there. I was not competitive enough against her today.

“So, yeah, everything is still a work in progress, whether I won today or not. It’s still a moving train.”

The world No.4 had not played since an ankle injury forced her to pull out of the WTA Championships in Turkey last October, while shoulder injuries disrupted her career since winning the 2008 Australian Open, with her ranking diving to 126 during 2009.

But, at the age of 24, Sharapova knows she has plenty of time left to be a part of the new wave of women’s tennis and to add to her three grand slam titles.

“Absolutely. I believe that there’s still a lot of work that I can do to improve. That’s why I’m still playing,” she said.

“I’m proud of the fact that I made it this far. It’s been a few years since I’ve been in the finals of the Australian Open.

“It’s a good start to the year, I guess, for me. I have a lot to look forward to this year.”

Sharapova admitted she had no answer to Azarenka on Saturday night, saying the Belarusian did everything better than her.

“I was always the one running around like a rabbit, trying to play catchup all the time,” she said.