It feels like forever since we last saw a full-strength Venus Williams grace the tennis courts. Being sidelined since last year's US Open, the American took her time to recover from Sjögren's Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that caused her fatigue and dizziness. She finally felt ready to make a comeback at Miami, one of her favourite WTA stops, where she hopes to rekindle the kind of form that got her three crowns in the late 90s.
Considering the little match practice she had under her belt, the American looked utterly impressive in her first round clash with Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, cruising through a commanding 6-0,6-3 win. Nevertheless, her chances before the highly anticipated encounter with reigning Wimbledon champion were rather low. At number 134 in the world and a bit rusty after the lengthy lay-off, Venus seemed an easy target for the powerful Czech. However, as she did so many times in her career, she proved once again that she is not one to be easily written off. Relying on some heavy groundstrokes, she broke Kvitova in the 10th game and, back up by her huge serve, she took the first set 6-4. The Czech responded with an equally impressive service display and, after trading breaks in the beginning of the second act, she broke decisively at 3-2 to level the match. A few tight games lost in the beginning of the decider though were enough to completely derail Petra's game. She started a never-ending streak of unforced error that played right into her opponent's favour. The experienced Venus took full advantage of the situation reeling six consecutive games to take an emphatic 6-4,4-6,6-0 victory.
While the American will continue her successful return to tennis with a third round meeting with Canadian Aleksandra Wozniack, Kvitova is left to deal with yet another setback in her attempt to claim the number 1 spot from the invincible Azarenka.
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| Venus notched her 600th career win, stunning the world number 3, Petra Kvitova, 6-4,4-6,6-0 in the second round at Miami. |
photos: GETTY IMAGES
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