Tennis:Defending champion Serena Williams survived a wobble to beat Aravane Rezai 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round at Wimbledon today.
The American seventh seed lost the first two games of the match before finding her range, sending her French opponent ranked 61st in the world scampering around Centre Court with a barrage of powerful groundstrokes.
The 29-year-old, playing only her third match since returning to action following serious injury and health problems, struggled for rhythm in the second set and Rezai took full advantage.
But Williams, bidding for her third Wimbledon title in a row and fifth overall, regrouped to make an early break in the deciding set and book her place in the second round.
Elsewhere Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova and fellow 2010 semi-finalist Czech Petra Kvitova eased through their opening matches.
Kvitova, who had never won a match on grass until last year's Wimbledon, needed less than an hour to dispatch America's Alexa Glatch 6-2 6-2 and Pironkova soon followed with a 6-2 6-1 win over Italian Camila Giorgi.
At 4-2 down in the second set Glatch, wearing strapping on her left leg and ankle, battled hard to stay in the match, saving two break points, before eighth seed Kvitova fired a powerful cross-court backhand past her to take the game.
As fans outside the court strained to catch a glimpse of the action, the 21-year-old left-hander polished off her win with an effortless ace to set up a second round with Britain's Anne Keothavong.
It was a similar story on court 19 as 23-year-old Pironkova, who last week lost to Serena Williams in the American's first match back after nearly a year off, broke world number 122 Giorgi in the second game to take an early lead.
A double fault by the error-prone Italian handed Pironkova the first set and the she stormed to a 5-0 lead in the second with her powerful serve too much for Giorgi to handle.
She will face Croatia's Petra Martic in the second round.