Former world number one Serena Williams began her WTA tour journey with a win on her return but needed three sets to get past Bernarda Pera at the Lexington Open.
The No 1 seed, who last featured in the Fed Cup qualifier in February, lost the first set in Kentucky.
Her opponent, Pera, had two chances to earn a decisive break against the 23-time Grand Slam winner in the next set, but Serena fought back on both occasions, eventually levelling before she then hit top gear to win 4-6 6-4 6-1.
The champion after the game told the official WTA website, “I wasn’t in a good rhythm and I just kept thinking Serena, play like you’ve been practising“.
“I knew I could play a little bit better if I just hung in there.”
She looks set to face her sister, Venus Williams, who plays former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka in the second round. If Venus does defeat Azarenka, then we have the sisters matchup yet again. Serena has also said she is using this tournament as preparation for the US Open, which begins on August 31.
“I didn’t know how I was going to feel or how I was going to do, but I really didn’t hate the atmosphere,” Williams adds.
“Being in New York will be a little different because of the massive stadium, but the solo court kind of reminds me of my junior days, so there was something kind of nostalgic about that.”
Top-seed Simona Halep showed great will and determination as she fought hard to advance to the second round in Prague by beating unseeded Polana Hercog 6-1 1-6 7-6 (7-3) in her first competitive match since she won the Dubai Championships in February for her 20th career WTA title.
Related: Serena Williams not concerned about high profile dropouts from the US Open,
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