Serena recovers to beat Halep at Wimbledon

Serena Williams was taken the distance again before reaching the third round at Wimbledon on Thursday with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Romania's Simona Halep.

The seventh-seeded Williams has played three sets in all four matches since her return from nearly a year out of action.

Opening play on Court 2, the defending champion was broken once by the No. 58-ranked Halep to lose the first set. But she recovered her poise and won seven games in a row from 4-2 in the second set.

Williams missed three match points at 5-0 in the decider but she closed out the victory with a big serve in the next game.