Serena Williams will continue her title defence here at Wimbledon with a third round clash against Maria Kirilenko

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Serena Williams appeared to be in trouble on Thursday, but came back from a set down to beat Simona Halep of Romania. Halep had controlled the first set, but Serena’s never say die attitude kicked in at the start of the second, and from that point onwards there was no turning back. Despite Halep’s best efforts, Serena eventually clinched a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win.

The former world No. 1 hasn’t regained her usual consistency yet, but her ability to grind out results is still evident. It would be a remarkable achievement if she could defend her title after almost a year out of the game, and yet it seems possible that the she could do it. Her next match will be a third round clash against world No. 27 Maria Kirilenko.

Serena has a 3-0 head to head record against Kirilenko, and is expected to extend this lead here on Saturday. Kirilenko has played well so far, but Serena is growing in confidence, and should be able to earn a berth in the fourth round. That said, Serena isn’t quite at her best just yet, and this could be a fascinating contest.

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