DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Venus Williams made good on the wild card she received into the Dubai Championships by posting a 6-3, 6-2 first-round win over Elena Vesnina of Russia on Monday. cheap nhl jerseys . The 48th-ranked Williams made her first appearance in Dubai since she won her second straight title here in 2010. Shed missed the last three years either because of injury or Sjogrens Syndrome. "I definitely dont take for granted any win anymore," Williams said. "Not that I used to because I earned it. "But now its even more special." She fired 10 aces and broke the 33rd-ranked Vesnina four times. Vesnina had won their previous two matchups. "My serve keeps improving pretty much every tournament," Williams said. "That always helps me." In the first set, Williams broke Vesnina at love in the sixth game. Williams raced to 3-0 in the second set, but surrendered her serve in the fourth game when she sailed a forehand long on the one break point she faced all night. Williams sister, Serena, the top seed and also a wild card recipient, will play Ekaterina Makarova of Russia on Tuesday. It will be the first match for Serena since losing to Ana Ivanovic in the Australian Open fourth round last month. Serenas been nursing a back injury until this week. Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic ousted Sloane Stephens 6-3, 7-5, handing the 18th-ranked American back-to-back first-round losses at Doha and Dubai. Safarova broke Stephens three times in the first set, but double-faulted twice from 30-30 in the ninth game of the second to give Stephens a 5-4 lead. Stephens, however, was unable to hold on to it. "I didnt really get a great rhythm and she was playing good tennis in the end," Stephens said. The main draw is so strong in Dubai that Australian Open semifinalist Eugenie Bouchard of Canada was relegated to the qualifying draw. Bouchard lost her third qualifying match to Annika Beck of Germany 6-1, 6-4 on Monday. cheapjerseyswholesaleprice .S. Open on Wednesday as he recovers from back surgery that has kept him out of golf for nearly three months. cheap nfl jerseys from china . But in the aftermath a 115-91 pounding of the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey insisted it was still invaluable for evaluating the depth of his team early in the season.FLORENCE, Italy -- Fiorentina striker Giuseppe Rossi could be back playing in as little as six weeks, much sooner than first thought after he damaged his right knee again. Rossi was thought to have ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee for a third time but tests Monday revealed that the American-born forward has a medial collateral ligament injury. "It seems to be a sprain with damage to the collateral. We got lucky. He could return to the pitch in 6/7 weeks," one of his agents, Federico Pastorello, wrote in Italian on Twitter. Fiorentina said Rossi will soon be seen by Colorado-based Dr. Richard Steadman -- the same surgeon who carried out the second operation -- "in order to correctly evaluate the extent of the injury and the prognosis." Rossi limped off in tears in Sundays 1-0 win over Livorno following a strong tackle from Leandro Rinaudo. Thhe club initially feared Rossi would be out for another six months, although that was later reduced to three with the news that it wasnt another cruciate ligament injury. cheap nfl jerseys. "We are more optimistic," Rossis other agent, Andrea Pastorello, said as the pair left the hospital to applause from fans. Rossi tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in 2011, and did so again in training six months later before he had returned to first-team football. The 26-year-old Rossi is the top scorer in Serie A this season with 14 goals in 17 matches and had returned to the Italy team. He is expected to be a key part of Cesare Prandellis World Cup plans. "Because of whats happened, Giuseppe has a great strength of character," Prandelli said. "He knows how much we value him. Ill say now: stay strong Giuseppe, were waiting for you." cheap jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
