Maria Sharapova is not looking back, just forward, after suffering one of the heaviest defeats of her career on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

The revitalised former world No.1 was only extracting the positives out of her 6-3 6-0 Australian Open final loss to Belarusian baseline slugger Victoria Azarenka on Saturday night.

Sharapova, who plummeted outside the top 100 after major shoulder surgery in 2008, was thrilled enough to have put herself back in contention for the top ranking by reaching the title match at Melbourne Park.

“I’m proud of the fact that I made it this far,” said the three-times Open finalist and 2008 champion.

“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 have a lot to look forward to this year.”

Sharapova arrived in Melbourne having not played since an ankle injury forced her to pull out of the WTA Championships in Istanbul last October.

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

“I faced someone (in the final) that came out who was too good and my level was not there. I was not competitive enough against her.

“Everything is still a work in progress … it’s still a moving train.”

Sharapova will rise from fourth to third in the rankings – behind new No.1 Azarenka and Czech Petra Kvitova – and insists her best years in tennis remain ahead.

The 24-year-old is a French Open title away from completing the career grand slam and “absolutely” believes more majors are within her grasp.

“That’s why I’m still playing,” Sharapova said.