Serena Williams had her service broken in the opening game before coming back to beat Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 6-2, 6-3 on Monday at the Brisbane International, her first match since losing the US Open final in September.
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Williams needed 68 minutes to advance, firing seven aces and taking advantage of eight double-faults by Scheepers.
In other matches, former No. 1-ranked Ana Ivanovic beat Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-3, 6-3 and American Vania King beat Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-3, 6-4.
Sam Stosur, who beat Williams for the US Open title last September, plays her opening match at Pat Rafter Arena on Monday night.
Top-seeded Andy Murray plays his opening men's match on Tuesday.
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