Serena Williams eases past Laura Siegemund to reach round three in Indian Wells
World number one Serena Williams eased through her opening match at the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-2 6-1 second-round win over German qualifier Laura Siegemund in Indian Wells.
Back on court for the first time since her Australian Open final defeat to Angelique Kerber, Williams faced a break point in her opening service game but recovered to advance to the third round comfortably.
"My intensity was the key," Williams said in her post-match interview. "(Siegemund) actually started out really strong in that first game when I was serving, she was close to breaking me.
"I knew right then and there if I wasn't going to come out at 100 per cent it would be a long match."
Agnieszka Radwanska made a dramatic third-set comeback to overcome Dominika Cibulkova.
Radwanska looked like she was heading for an early trip home when she trailed Cibulkova 5-2 in the decider but she rallied and saved a match point on her way to a 6-3 3-6 7-5 triumph.
"Playing Dominika in the second round - my first match - is obviously the toughest draw I could have," Radwanska said in her on-court interview.
"She doesn't have the ranking she should - she's definitely a top-20 player - and I'm so happy I could come back in that third set and win the match."
Defending champion Simona Halep had little trouble advancing to the third round, the fifth seed beating Vania King 6-1 6-1.
Japanese qualifier Kurumi Nara ensured Venus Williams' return to Indian Wells was a brief one.
It was Williams' first match back at the venue for 15 years but she fell at the first hurdle, going down 6-4 6-3.
Number 11 seed Lucie Safarova was the biggest casualty of the day as she was beaten 6-3 6-4 by Yaroslava Shvedova, while fellow seeded players Sara Errani, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Andrea Petkovic, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Madison Keys and Sabine Lisicki were also dumped out.
In the men's event, teenager Sascha Zverev came from behind to eliminate veteran Ivan Dodig 3-6 7-5 6-3.
Vasek Pospisil was given a solid workout by American wild card Jared Donaldson before prevailing 7-6 (7/5) 6-7 (2/7) 6-3.
Gilles Muller sent down 16 aces on his way to a 7-5 6-3 win over Victor Estrella-Burgos, while Mikhail Kukushkin booked a second-round date with Kei Nishikori with a 7-6 (7/1) 6-2 win over Daniel Munoz de la Nava.
Qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo earned his first ATP victory with a 6-4 6-4 win over Teymuraz Gabashvili and is rewarded with a clash against top seed Novak Djokovic.
