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Quiet English Town Braces for Venus and Serena’s Hotly Anticipated Comeback
June 13, 2011

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Serena and Venus Williams make their long-awaited returns from lengthy injury absences at the Eastbourne grass court tournament beginning today, the last warm-up event before Wimbledon.

Serena hasn’t played since winning her fourth Wimbledon title 49 weeks ago, suffering a freak foot injury when she stepped on glass at a restaurant followed by a worrying February blood clot in her lungs which required surgery.

The one-time No. 1 has fallen to 25th on the WTA rankings, with her elder sister Venus standing at 32.

Five-time Wimbledon winner Venus hasn’t been on court since Jan. 21, when she retired after one game against German Andrea Petkovic at the Australian Open, citing abdominal muscle problems.

She will pick up where she left off after drawing eighth seed Petkovic in the first round on the grass at this sleepy English south coast venue, while Serena will play against Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.

“I am so excited to be healthy enough to compete in tournaments again,” Serena said in a statement last week.

“These past 12 months have been extremely tough and character building for me. I have so much to be grateful for. Serena’s back.”

Venus, who turns 31 on Friday, said she had been longing for a return to the sport.

“I’ve missed tennis. Tennis has been so kind to me,” she said.

However, Venus is wisely not counting on instant success as she ventures back into the sport.

“We’re not here for results, but we are going to do our best to take home titles. Whether it can happen yet remains to be seen,” Venus said.

“But that’s what we aim for every time we hit the court.”

Two-time 2010 Grand Slam finalist Vera Zvonareva opens against a British wild-card entry with the winner of that contest to face either Venus or Pironkova.

French Open champion Li Na faces a qualifier, while Victoria Azarenka plays China’s Peng Shuai.

The men’s ATP side of the field at Devonshire Park will feature the south coast debut of former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt.

The Australian will start the pre-Wimbledon week with a ranking outside of the top 100 after falling in the quarterfinals in Halle, Germany, which he won a year ago over Roger Federer.

Hewitt will start his campaign against Olivier Rochus.

The No. 1 seed is Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who knocked Rafael Nadal out in the Queen’s club quarterfinals. AFP