Venus Williams hopes of making a victorious return to action were dashed as she was knocked out in the quarter-final of the AEGON International at Eastbourne by Daniela Hantuchova. The Slovakian had not beaten Williams in 10 previous attempts, but finally defeated her 6-2 5-7 6-2. Williams returned to action this week after being sidelined with knee and hip injuries. She had impressed in the early rounds at Eastbourne, but could not match Hantuchova. The elder Williams sister, the number 23 seed for Wimbledon, never got going in the first set, being broken twice as she lost it 6-2. An easy win seemed to be on the cards for Hantuchova when she broke Williams early in the second, but the American fought back to take the second set and force the match into a decider. But Williams returned to her first set form for the final set. She again lost 6-2 with her serve letting her down badly. Williams' sister Serena, also make a comeback from injury, was knocked out by Vera Zvonareva in Wednesday's second round match.
