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Venus makes winning return at Eastbourne

Venus Williams returned to Eastbourne for the first time since 1998 © PA Photos

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Venus Williams showed she still had plenty of mettle as she began her Wimbledon preparations at the AEGON International in Eastbourne.

The five-time Wimbledon champion has not played at Eastbourne since 1998, and she was given a real workout as she needed over two and a half hours to find her way past eighth seed Andrea Petkovic 7-5 5-7 6-3.

Williams, who has not played since January when she retired from the Australian Open with an abdominal injury, showed signs of rust as she served two double faults in her opening service game.

It was Petkovic who benefited from Williams' retirement in the third round in Melbourne, and in an ironic twist it was Petkovic who was on the other side of the net for Williams' return, as the American battled from a break down to take the opening set.

Petkovic hit back to force the match to a decider, but any fears over Williams' fitness were soon quashed when the American put her foot on the gas to wrap up victory. Williams could face another former world No. 1 in the second round, where she awaits the winner of the first-round clash between Ana Ivanovic and Julia Goerges.

Sam Stosur wasted little in time in getting her grass court campaign off the ground with a straight-sets win over Nadia Petrova. The No. 7 seed needed just 52 minutes to race to a 6-1 6-4 victory.

Fifth seed Petra Kvitova had to battle from a set down to claim a 5-7 6-1 6-3 victory over Anastasija Sevastova, while Agnieszka Radwanska came through two tight sets to beat Jarmila Gajdosova 7-6(5) 7-5.

Meanwhile, at the UNICEF Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, top seed Kim Clijsters came through a tough test against Monica Niculescu. Clijsters was pegged back from being a break up in both sets before eventually triumphing 7-5 7-5.

"It always takes a little getting used to," Clijsters said of her first match on grass. "It was important to stay focused on every point."

Dutch youngster Arantxa Rus, who claimed the scalp of Clijsters at the French Open was in action in front of her home crowd, but she was unable to pull off another upset as second seed Svetlana Kuznetsva clinched a 6-2 6-4 win.

Third seed Yanina Wickmayer and Flavia Pennetta progressed unscathed, but sixth seed Maria Kirilenko was sent crashing out at the hands of Kimiko Date Krumm.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.