Venus Williams makes winning return in Miami

Venus Williams made a triumphant to the WTA Tour on Wednesday, winning her first round match at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. The former world number one had not played a singles match since last year’s US Open in New York when she revealed she had been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an auto-immune disease that causes fatigue and joint soreness. But the 31-year-old American was back on the court on Wednesday, beating Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-0 6-3 in an hour and 17 minutes. “Just to be in this tournament is a huge win for me,” Williams told reporters after being granted a wildcard entry into the tournament. “Just being here is a win, I told myself going into this, this is a win. Just to train and get back at this level.” [caption id=“attachment_251953” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Venus Williams, right, shakes hands with Kimiko Date-Krumm, of Japan, left, after winning 6-0, 6-3, in their match at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament. AP”]  [/caption] Belgium’s Kim Clijsters, another former number one on the comeback trail, overcame a slow start before beating Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova 4-6 6-1 6-0. Clijsters had not played since she lost to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka in the Australian Open semi-finals when she injured her ankle. “It’s always tough to get that first match rhythm under your belt,” Clijsters said. “One thing I can count on is I have the experience, though. It doesn’t take me that long to get used to it again. But it has become tougher.” Reuters