Monday 29 September 2014 12:26, UK
Top seed Serena Williams recovered from a shocking start to reach the second round of the China Open.
Williams struggled to get going against Spanish qualifier Silvia Soler-Espinosa as she dropped her serve three times to trail 5-0 after just 15 minutes.
However saving set-point kick-started her into action – with Williams going on to win 13 of the next 15 games to claim a 7-5 6-2 victory.
Fellow seeds Ana Ivanovic, Lucie Safarova and Flavia Pennetta had no such problems as they recorded routine wins to progress in Beijing.
No 9 seed Ivanovic ruthlessly brushed aside rising star Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-1, while Safarova, ranked 13, edged out Camila Giorgi 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Pennetta, the 14th seed from Italy, also came through in straight sets, beating Christina McHale 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Alize Cornet did cause a mini-upset, though, when she ousted 10th seed Jelena Jankovic 7-5 3-6 6-4.
Tsvetana Pironkova overcame Maria Kirilenko, a recent quarter-finalist in Korea, 6-4 6-1, while Mona Barthel bounced back to topple Bethanie Mattek-Sands 4-6 6-1 6-4.
