Tennis: Venus Williams cruises to win in first match back Published on Friday 23 March 2012 03:39 Venus Williams won in her first singles match since August, dispatching Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-0, 6-3 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscane, Florida. She smiled, raised her arms in victory, then skipped to the net to shake the 41-year-old Date-Krumm's hand before twirling around and pumping her arms in a celebration worthy of winning the title. Other than playing a doubles match during the United States" Fed Cup first-round victory over Belarus last month, Williams hadn't played an official match since the US Open first round. The 31-year-old Williams withdrew from her second-round match against Sabine Lisicki at the US Open after announcing she had been diagnosed with the fatigue-causing, auto-immune disease known as Sjogren's Syndrome. I mean, just to be in this tournament is a huge win for me. Just to be here is a win," Williams said. That's what I told myself going in, that this is a win. I have nothing to lose. Once a world No 1 and a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, Williams is ranked No 134 and was playing on a wild-card entry at Key Biscayne. She's hoping to be able to play steadily now and to make her third US Olympic team - she won gold in singles and doubles at the 2000 Sydney Games and a doubles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. In the first set, Williams lost only seven points on serve. She dropped her serve only once in the match, in the first game of the second set. She will next play Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who had a bye into the second round as the No 3 seed. Venus" sister Serena also made a winning return after a two-month absence as she beat Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-3. Aside from two Fed Cup victories in February, the match was the first for Williams since she lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open. She had been slowed by a left ankle injury. Williams, who received a first-round bye because she is seeded tenth, is a five-time Key Biscayne champion. Two-time champion Kim Clijsters defeated Julia Goerges 6-2, 7-5, while Jelena Jankovic lost her opening match to Mona Barthel 6-0, 6-3. On the men's side, Argentina's David Nalbandian beat Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-4, 7-6 (0), Russian veteran Nikolay Davydenko beat American James Blake 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, Tommy Haas of Germany had a 6-4, 6-4 win over Frenchman Guillaume Rufin, and Nicolas Mahut of France beat Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3).