Former world number one tennis players Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters made triumphant returns to the WTA after long layoffs with victories on Wednesday at the Miami hardcourt tournament.
Seven-time grand slam champion Williams hadn't played a WTA event since pulling out of last year's US Open with an auto-immune disorder, and she says her 77-minute 6-0 6-3 drubbing of Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm was "nerve-wracking".
Belgium's Clijsters has struggled with a list of ailments in the past year and hadn't played since her Australian Open semi-final loss to current world-best Victoria Azarenka, but rallied to eliminate Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova 4-6 6-1 6-0.
Williams advanced to a second-round match against Czech third seed and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who had a first-round bye, while next up for Clijsters is her first match against Germany's 14th-seeded Julia Goerges.
