Venus rises to occasion with renewed focus

With a spring in her step, and diamond-encrusted pendants at her ears, Venus Williams returned to the tennis circuit here yesterday after a six-month break and immediately served notice that she means business.

It was not that she faced a tough challenge in Ashley Harkleroad, who was overwhelmed on the Rebound Ace surface of Rod Laver Arena. It was that Venus, who plays so brilliantly but whose mind so often seems to be elsewhere, appeared uncommonly focused on the match. She was attentive, captivated even, as she beat her fellow American 6-2, 6-1 in 51 minutes.

An abdominal injury had prevented her from competing since her younger sister, Serena, defeated her in last year's Wimbledon final. Serena, too, has been out of action since then. She had knee surgery last August and has not come back to defend her Australian Open title.

Venus, who was given the No 3 seeding even though her world ranking has slipped to No 11, said she regretted being without her. "We're always here together, so it's like a missing link," she said. "It's not the same. I'm alone in the room."

It may be, though, that Serena's absence will allow Venus to step out of her shadow and capture her first Grand Slam title since 2001. Leaving aside last year's United States Open, which both women missed, Serena has won five out of the last six Slams, with Venus being the runner-up on each occasion.

The latter still has six more matches ahead of her in Melbourne, and yesterday she twisted her right ankle while landing awkwardly during the fifth game of the match. She said she had put ice on the injury and did not believe it was serious, although her mother, Oracene, looked horrified at the time.

Venus said it had been "a breath of fresh air" to return to tennis. "It's just so exciting to be playing again," she said. "It's been such a long time. I think more than anything I just wanted to play consistently, because I feel I can hit a lot of great shots. But it's not about one or two great shots, it's about playing consistently and playing the point correctly."

Grilled about her appearance by a middle-aged male journalist, she explained that her halter-neck dress had been designed by Diane von Furstenberg and her hair clasp was light blue. "I like to have the complete outfit," she said. "I just believe that if you look good, you play better. I'm serious."

With the women's field depleted by injury, Venus's chances are good. The No 2 seed, Kim Clijsters, beat her first-round opponent, Marlene Weingartner, 6-3, 6-2 on the Rod Laver Arena Court yesterday, but said she was worried about whether her ankle, which she injured two weeks ago, would flare up today.

The injury was sustained at the Hopman Cup and it was touch and go whether she would be fit enough to take her place in the draw. But a week of intensive treatment has paid dividends and the second seed felt no pain in overcoming Weingartner.

The world No 2 says she is unsure how the injury will respond in the next 24 hours. "It's not like it's healed. It's something that's not going to go away," said Clijsters, who is scheduled to play Maria Elena Camerin, of Italy, in the second round on Thursday.

"I didn't have any problems with my ankle and that was the most important thing, just to try and test it out and see how it was doing," she said. "The only thing I'm worried about now is to see how it flares up tomorrow, after having played this match.

"There were a few moments when my footwork wasn't at its best, but you can't expect more for your first match after a while off."

The Spaniard Conchita Martinez, the No 13, was the only seed to be knocked out. The former Wimbledon champion lost in straight sets to Kristina Brandi, of Puerto Rico, 7-6, 6-1.

Those who advanced included the No 6 seed, Anastasia Myskina, of Russia, the No 8, Ai Sugiyama of Japan, the No 9, the American Chanda Rubin, and the No 12, Paola Suarez of Argentina.