Serena survives scare to reach third round

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]





LONDON: Defending champion Serena Williams survived a scare before moving into the third round at Wimbledon with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Romania's Simona Halep on Thursday.

Serena has played only three matches since she clinched her fourth Wimbledon title 12 months ago and the American seventh seed is clearly still finding her way back to top form.

The 29-year-old has had to recover from emergency surgery to remove two blood clots, while also getting over a foot injury sustained by stepping on glass in a German restaurant.

That long lay-off has left some rust and for the second match here, Serena was pushed to three sets by a lower-ranked opponent before finding a way to grind out the victory.

A third round clash against Maria Kirilenko or Tamarine Tanasugarn is Serena's next challenge as she bids for a third successive title.

Aided by some erratic serving from Serena, it was Halep who landed the first blow on Court Two as she broke for a 3-1 lead and then served out the first set after treatment on a leg injury.

Serena admitted after her first round win that she needed to be "patched up all over" to get through matches at the moment.

But her fierce competitive instincts kicked in as she raced into a 3-0 lead in the second set before breaking again to level the match.

Serena had finally found her stride and Halep had no answer as the 13-time Grand Slam champion turned on the power to take the final set in emphatic fashion.