For a while, Serena Williams regarded her enforced layoff as a vacation. Sidelined by a knee surgery, she designed dresses, dabbled in acting and played no tennis.
"When I first got off and took a break, it was like a relief almost," Williams said.
"I was like, `Wow, I never had this much time off.' But after a while that gets old."
Now she's ready to go back to work. Williams will play her first match since August when she returns for the Nasdaq-100 Open, which began Wednesday.
Because of the absence of the four top-ranked women's players, including Belgians Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, Williams is seeded No. 1. The tournament will be her first since she won her sixth Grand Slam title by beating sister Venus at Wimbledon last July.
"I really, really am excited about getting back," said Serena, a two-time defending champion at Key Biscayne.
"I've been in a lot of pain watching a lot of players play when I really want to be out there."
Williams is hardly the only top player who has been hurt, or even the only Williams. Venus missed the final six months of last year with an abdominal injury, and a sore right knee has limited her to six matches this year.
"It's been really tough for her to get back," Serena said.
"We've both been working very hard, and we both plan on making a lot of noise."
With the sisters seeded 1-2, they can meet only in the final. Serena has beaten Venus six times in succession. The 32 seeded players receive first-round byes, meaning they'll play their opening matches Friday or Saturday.
No. 1-ranked Henin-Hardenne decided to skip Key Biscayne, even though it has long been regarded as the most prestigious tournament aside from the Grand Slams.
She has won three of the past four major events and would have been the favorite, but she'll instead take a two-week break after winning the Pacific Open title Sunday.
The decision disappointed tournament organizers.
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