WIMBLEDON, England -- Two simple words at the end of a June 7 tweet said it all: "Serenas back!" And Venus is, too. Yes, as Serena Williams announced to the world less than two weeks ago, the most successful tennis-playing siblings in history are returning from lengthy layoffs right on time for Wimbledon, where they just so happen to have won nine of the past 11 singles championships. For Serena, it will be her first Grand Slam tournament -- and only second event -- since she took home a second consecutive title from the All England Club in July 2010. Her nearly year-long absence resulted from a series of health issues, including two foot operations and blood clots in her lungs, that she said left her depressed and "on my deathbed." Venus, meanwhile, was sidelined by a hip injury from January until June. All eyes will be on them when the grass-court Grand Slam tournament begins Monday. "I feel like weve been on a similar road together. Her road hasnt been as arduous or as long as mine, but I know what shes been through coming back," Serena said when she made her 2011 debut at a tuneup tournament this week in Eastbourne, England. "Weve been really enjoying our time just getting back together and practising next to her and looking over and seeing her play so well. Im like, OK, Ive got to do better." There are, to be sure, other plot lines worth tracking during the fortnight. Among them: Can Roger Federer make a real run at a seventh Wimbledon title? Can Rafael Nadal extend his recent excellence to five titles in a span of six Grand Slam tournaments? Can Novak Djokovic recover from the end of his 43-match winning streak to win a major title other than the Australian Open? Can Andy Murray finally -- and mercifully -- put an end to the locals 75-year wait for a British male champion at the All England Club? Might No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki win her first Grand Slam title? Could Chinas Li Na win her second in a row? Will Maria Sharapova end her 3 1/2-year major drought? Nadal could come up against the big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic in the third round. Raonic, the 31st seed from Thornhill, Ont., starts against Italys Fabio Fognini. But the biggest curiosity, at least at the outset, is: How will the Williams sisters do? "It will be interesting to see how they come back. I think its interesting for the tour. Its a good story," Federer said Saturday. "Its been an up-and-down, bumpy road for the womens tour as of late. But well see now how it goes here with the sisters back in the game." Part of the interest stems from wondering how much longer theyll be around. Venus turned 31 on Friday; Serena will be 30 in September. "Whenever they enter a Grand Slam tournament, its double the excitement and double the intrigue, I think, that they bring to the sport. They just bring a different level of tennis also, as far as the power and the emotional content," said ESPN2 analyst Chris Evert, who won 18 Grand Slam titles. "It would be monumental in my mind if Serena pulled off a win," Evert added. "I personally dont know how its humanly possible for someone to take a year off like that and have gone through what shes been through physically with her ailments and ... it would almost shock me if she did. But knowing Serena and the way shes come back before, you can never count her out." Evert -- who said she never was away from the tour longer than four months -- is one of only five women in tennis history who have won more major championships than Serenas 13. The others are Margaret Court (24), Steffi Graf (22), Helen Wills Moody (19) and Martina Navratilova (18). Among active players, of course, Serena ranks No. 1, followed by Venus with seven. No one else in this years Wimbledon womens field has more than three Grand Slam titles (Kim Clijsters has four, but she pulled out with a foot injury). Indeed, its remarkable to examine the measurable ways in which Serena and Venus have dominated womens tennis, in general -- and the All England Club, in particular -- across the years. Thats why Serena is seeded No. 7 at Wimbledon, despite being ranked 26th; Venus is seeded 23rd, despite being ranked 33rd. "You know," Sharapova said, "theyre obviously the ones to beat on grass." Not only has Venus won five titles at Wimbledon, and Serena four, since 2000, but theyve also produced four all-in-the-family finals there in that span. Theyve played in a total of eight all-Williams Grand Slam championship matches, with Serena holding a 6-2 edge. At Wimbledon, Venus is 68-9, Serena 57-7. No one else in the 2011 draw has more than 27 match wins there. "Obviously," Wozniacki said, "no one wants to play them." Overall, Serena has been to 16 major finals, Venus 14. No one else in the draw has reached more than four. As seven-time major champion John McEnroe put it: "I wouldnt minimize their chances." Hey, at least one British bookmaker installed Serena as a 3-1 favourite to win Wimbledon. The interest generated by the sisters rise to the top of their sport is widely pointed to as the reason for the U.S. Opens decision to move its womens final to prime time in 2001. Venus beat Serena that year for the title, and nearly 23 million viewers tuned in to the CBS broadcast, giving their match the largest TV audience of any program that night, including a game between traditional college football powers Notre Dame and Nebraska. The last major tournament, the French Open, was the first Grand Slam since 2003 without Serena or Venus -- and chaos reigned. Its the only French Open in history where none of the top three seeded women reached the quarter-finals, and it left some looking forward to when the sisters would pick up their rackets again. "Im sure when they come back, theyll come back ready. Thats how they do it. Tennis has been pretty spoiled by their success and theyre pretty special, two special sisters," top-10 U.S. man Mardy Fish said in Paris. "And when theyre not around, you can feel it. You can feel at a Grand Slam when theyre not here, and so I think everyones hoping that theyll be back, better than ever, soon." Serena lost in the second round at Eastbourne, a three-set struggle against the woman she beat in last years Wimbledon final, Vera Zvonareva. Venus lasted one round longer. Theyre not merely happy to be back, though. They want to contend for more titles. "I always believe in myself when I go on the court," Venus said. "And Im not just here to look good on the court; Im here to win every match Im in." 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The power-hitting right-handers cliffhanger 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) victory over Vasek Pospisil on Saturday made him the first Canadian to reach the final of his countrys biggest tournament since Robert Bedard won it for the third time in 1958. Cheap nfl Jerseys Free Shipping .com) - Fallout from the Rangers dismal 1-4-0 start has begun.NEW YORK -- Nothing was working for Hiroki Kuroda in the first two innings. By the time the right-hander was lifted after the sixth, he really had impressed his manager. With Derek Jeter making his first visit to the Bronx this season, Kuroda gave a gutsy performance, Robinson Cano hit a three-run homer and the New York Yankees used a flurry of early long balls to outslug the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 Thursday night. "This might be his best performance of the year," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It says a lot because he didnt have a whole lot." Vernon Wells homered again against Mark Buehrle, and Francisco Cervelli also connected for New York, which overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the Blue Jays for the third time within a week. The Yankees took two of three in a weekend series in Toronto. Kuroda (3-1) settled after giving up homers to Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Lawrie in the first two innings, yielding six hits and three runs before getting the third out of the second. With a little help from Cervelli, his catcher, Kuroda didnt allow a hit after Munenori Kawasaki doubled with two outs in the second. "All I thought about was, Just hang in there," Kuroda said through a translator. Cervelli knew Kuroda was struggling, yet he would never let on. His job was to figure out a way to guide his pitcher through the struggles. "I think he started to take a little more time and throw his pitches down," Cervelli said. "I started to call more breaking balls." Jeter, out until probably mid-July because of a broken ankle, watched a no-frills New York lineup improve to 12-9. The Yankees captain said he was meeting some of his teammates for the first time. Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson each pitched a scoreless inning, and Mariano Rivera was perfect in the ninth for his seventh save in seven chances. The game drew 31,445, the fourth time this month a record low has been set at new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. Toronto manager John Gibbons was ejected in the seventh inning after umpires overturned a call at first, giving Ben Francisco an infield hit. With a runner on first, Francisco hit a soft grounder to third base. Lawrie made a low throw that first base umpire Chad Fairchild initially said Encarncion made a clean scoop and Francisco was out. But crew chief Jeff Kellogg, who was the second base umpire, felt he had a better view of the play than Fairchild. He called the group together and overturned the call. TV replays showed Encarnacion trapped the baall and didnt have possession.dddddddddddd "My sense was that the ball was resting on the ground and his glove was around the top of the ball," Kellogg said. Gibbons argued with Kellogg, tossed his hat and was ejected for the 22nd time in his career. "I asked him how could they overturn it if there is no appeal by the other side? I thought the rule was that there had to be an appeal by the other side for them to get together," Gibbons said. "That was my interpretation of the rule. They are a good umpiring crew, theyre trying to get it right." Gibbons added: "You kind of wish they had done that when Galarraga was pitching the perfect game." He was referring to Detroits Armando Galarraga, who lost a perfect game in 2010 on a blown call at first base with two outs in the ninth inning. It was Gibbons second ejection in two games for the disappointing Blue Jays, off to a 9-14 start after bulking up their roster during the off-season. The left-handed Buehrle, pitching against Kuroda for the second time within a week, struggled against a team that came in hitting .199 against lefties, yielding five runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. Buehrle (1-1) has lost seven straight decisions against the Yankees dating to 2004 with the Chicago White Sox and is 1-9 in 14 starts against New York. Encarnacion hit a two-run drive in the first, and Lawrie led off the second with a fly that landed in the second row of the short porch in right field for his first home run this season. Wells, a former Toronto star who was among the players New York acquired in March, homered leading off the second with a drive just beyond the 408-ft mark in centre field. Wells is 24 for 50 (.480) against Buehrle. "Hes got new life going over there," Gibbons said of Wells. "Hes a very intelligent guy and you know hes motivated." Jayson Nix and Brett Gardner reached on singles, and Cano sent a long drive to right-centre for his seventh homer of the year. "Hes fun to watch," Wells said of Cano. Cervelli homered to deep left in the fourth. NOTES: The Yankees top outfield prospect, Mason Williams, was charged with driving under the influence following a traffic stop in Florida. ... The Blue Jays placed 1B Adam Lind on the paternity list and recalled RHP Brad Lincoln from Triple-A Buffalo. Lincoln pitched a scoreless inning. ... Toronto LHP Ricky Romero is scheduled to start Saturday, his first outing since his demotion during spring training to work on his mechanics. Hell pitch for Class A Dunedin. cheap jerseys from china ' ' '