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UPDATE 2-Tennis-Clijsters struggles on Berlin return

(Updates with Venus Williams victory, paras 12-14)

By Patrick Vignal

BERLIN, May 5 - World number two Kim Clijsters
struggled on her return to WTA tour action on Wednesday, needing
three sets to beat Spanish qualifier Marta Marrero 6-3 2-6 6-4
in her first match at the German Open.

The top seed, wearing a brace around her left wrist to nurse
an injury that sidelined her for weeks, looked far from her best
as she battled to beat her unheralded opponent in a second-round
match.

"I wasn't expecting to come back and play my best tennis
straight away," Clijsters said.

"I'm glad I could get through this match. The wrist is not
100 percent and the brace is definitely restricting me but I
have to live with it."

The 20-year-old Belgian, who resumed playing in a Fed Cup
tie last month but had not entered a tournament for seven weeks,
had a bye in the first round as one of the top eight seeds.

Clijsters, who lost to compatriot Justine Henin-Hardenne in
the final here last year, is a right-hander but the injury to
her left wrist prevents her from using her two-handed backhand
to the full.

She seemed in control in the first set but collapsed in the
second, which she lost by hitting a forehand wide on set point.

MAURESMO THROUGH

The Belgian, who looked rusty and made many uncharacteristic
errors, struggled in a tight decisive set until Marrero missed a
drop shot on match point to end the contest.

Clijsters, who had feared she might have to miss the French
Open, said on Tuesday she would enter the Paris Grand Slam
starting on May 24 but was not expecting too much because of her
injury.

By contrast, second seed Amelie Mauresmo of France wasted
little time in her opening match, easing past Argentine Gisela
Dulko 6-1 6-2 in just 50 minutes.

World number three Mauresmo, 24, has fond memories of
Berlin, having reached the final as a qualifier in 1998 and
winning the title in 2001.

Number three seed Venus Williams, chasing a third successive
title after victories in Charleston and Warsaw, overcame tough
Greek Eleni Daniilidou 7-5 6-3 in a match delayed by rain.

The former world number one, recovering her best form after
a string of injuries, stepped up a gear after a sluggish start,
taking control with a break in the eighth game of the second set
before sealing victory with a backhand volley.

"I was a little bit off today, I thought, but I was able to
raise my game at the right moments and I'm pleased with that,"
Williams said after extending her winning streak to 12 matches.

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