*MKILETEWA HAPA NA FLORA LYIMO DISGNER*
She had a bit of a scare but Serena Williams' sheer strength of determination saw her to a famous comeback victory today.
The four-time Wimbledon champion has been through a horrendous year which saw her require life-saving surgery for blood clots on her lungs.
But the younger of the Williams girls has been driven to return by the prospect of another successful campaign at the All England crown when the world's favourite tennis tournament begins next week.
Back in the game: Serena Williams makes her successful comeback today in the quiet settings of the Aegon International tennis tournament in Eastbourne"
However, the 29-year-old American looked nervy and sluggish as she lost the first set at the AEGON championships in Eastbourne today.
Out of action since securing last year's Wimbledon title, she bounced back to beat Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 1-6 6-3 6-4 in her first-round match.
Dressed in pink and with purple streaks in her hair, Williams strode out on to a sunny centre court with little ceremony, took an age to unwrap her racket from its plastic cover before gingerly taking the first steps on the latest and most challenging comeback of her career.
With barely 20 minutes on the clock, however, she was 5-0 down as the American, playing at Eastbourne for the first time since 1998, slapped amateurish forehands into the net and looked leaden-footed.
It was far from pretty, but she finished a happy bunny.
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Means so much: Serena Williams reacts to winning a point against Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria in the first round"
Serena had captivated her pre-match audience on Monday with tales of life-saving surgery, of slicing her foot open on broken glass and of the mental torment endured since she last struck a tennis ball in competitive anger. The 13-time Grand Slam champion, who has not played tennis competitively since last summer, told of her arduous recovery after three major operations.
Idyllic setting: The Centre Court in Eastbourne where Serena Williams was playing for the first time since 1998 in her build-up to Wimbledon"
She revealed the graphic detail of her ordeal as she underwent surgery to remove a blood clot on the lung.
Williams, 29, said: 'It has been a totally different road because I've had some serious health problems and I was literally on my deathbed at one point.
'The doctors said that I had several clots bilaterally in both lungs. They said if they had caught it two days later, it could have been a lot more serious, possibly career-ending.
'A lot of people die from it because you don't recognise it. I couldn't breathe. I honestly just thought I was out of shape and needed to get on the treadmill or hit the elliptical (cross-trainer). 'It was my physio who forced me to go to the hospital whereas I was actually on the way to a party. She said, "No, you need to go to the hospital". I'm glad I didn't go to that party.'
Almost the party pooper: Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria raced into an early lead against the four-time Wimbledon champion"
The gruesome nature of some details hides the unanswered riddle of how broken glass on the floor could rip through sandals and into Serena's toes, one of them from above.
'After it was all over, there were a few days when I didn't get out of bed. So much had happened to me and I couldn't understand why. I was thinking, "Just what didn't I do or what did I do to deserve this?" '
'We were leaving the restaurant, I was walking and then I felt something. I just stepped back and said, "Oh, that really hurts". There was a massive pool of blood. I was like, "Oh my gosh". 'I ended up fainting because I lost so much blood. I ended up getting stitches in both feet. One was on top and one was on the bottom of my other foot. It sliced right through my ligament. I didn't know that, I just knew that my toe was hanging low.
'The second surgery on my foot was way tougher than the first, especially mentally. More mentally tough than anything I have been through in my life outside of my sister's passing (her eldest sister Yetunde Price was shot dead in 2003).
Honest account: Serena Williams told the pre-match conference how close she had come to losing her life after a freak accident"
I was in a cast for 20 weeks. I'd rather have been in jail for 20 weeks because I really hated that cast. Having your foot in one position so long, not moving it, not being able to walk or do a lot of things caused a lot of the problems.
After it was all over, there were a few days when I didn't get out of bed. So much had happened to me and I couldn't understand why. I was thinking, "Just what didn't I do or what did I do to deserve this?" ' In such a chilling context, the next three weeks are about enjoyment for the younger Williams sister, who will be competing in Wimbledon.'I'm just excited to be here and playing. I hope tennis has missed Venus and me.
'If tennis has missed us half as much as we've missed tennis, we're in a good place. This is a comeback that's totally different from any other comeback.'
Sister act: Serena, right, and Venus, who also suffered from a hip injury and took a five-month break"
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