Former world number ones Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters made triumphant returns to the WTA after long layoffs with victories at the WTA and ATP Miami hardcourt tournament.Seven-time Grand Slam champion Williams, who has not played a WTA event since pulling out of last year’s US Open, defeated Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-0, 6-3 in 77 minutes.“It was great to be back out there,” said Williams. “It was a bit nerve-wracking but I was able to get a great start and settle in and play well against a really difficult opponent. It was definitely an ideal start.”Belgium’s Clijsters, playing for the first time since her Australian Open semi-final loss to World number one Victoria Azarenka, rallied to eliminate Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.“It’s always tough to get that first match rhythm under your belt,” said Clijsters. “But as I started to feel more comfortable with the conditions and being in a match situation again I was hitting better.”Williams advanced to a second-round match against Czech third-seed, and Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova, while next up for Clijsters is her first match against Germany’s 14th-seeded Julia Goerges.
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