While Williams will only truly shake off the competitive rust by playing a consistent schedule, the mere fact that she's shown up in shape for the first time since she played with guts and grits in defeating Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport in succession to capture the 2005 Australian Open is an encouraging sign.

Prior to launching her comeback in Cincinnati, Williams said clearing her mind, confronting personal issues and regaining her resolve were crucial components in preparing for her return.

"I honestly just needed a mental break," Williams told the media in a 20-minute conference call. "I ended up going through a lot of stuff in my life beside surgery and including surgery and then it was a lot a lot that I don't think that anyone will ever understand or ever know. I was taking on a lot and then I was playing and I wasn't mentally ready to play and I think that had an affect on my knee. And I think I just needed to take some time to clear my mind, really get in shape and realize what I really like to do, which is play tennis. It's what I like to do and like I said, I believe it's what I do best. Once I was able to do that, I was able to move forward."

Hingis, who like Williams endured surgery and indulged her desire to explore life experiences outside of tennis, can relate to the woman who won seven of their 13 career clashes, including a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory in the 1999 U.S. Open final. The former World No. 1 said the physical demands and mental strain of playing the professional circuit today sometimes requires players to pull off the road for a while and recharge in their own personal rest areas before deciding what professional path to pursue.

"I think it just really drains you," Hingis said. "It takes a lot out of you the whole year playing tournaments. Everyone expects you to do well when you're a number one you could see (staying on top is tough): after me it was like one year Venus, one year Jennifer, one year Serena, one year Lindsay. It's just hard to maintain the top level the entire time because your body and everything just wears out. Just playing the matches in tournaments to the end of the week, you play a lot of tennis. I think sometimes it is the combination of a lot of things. If you can last long enough over the years, then that's already a huge success."

Williams' will to win once she's actually on court has seldom been in doubt; it is her