Simona Halep made a spirited charged at Wimbledon 2011 but in the end Serena Williams had too much for the relatively inexperienced player to handle.
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Serena Williams, having recently returned from injury, has survived the first two rounds of this year's Wimbledon draw as the American followed up her first round performance against Aravane Rezai with a victory in the second round on Thursday.
Williams dropped a set once again in the match as Simona Halep threatened to pull off an upset however the dropped set only served as a wake-up call for the defending champion as she stormed back to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory.
The key for Williams winning Wimbledon this year is to hit her best tennis before she faces one of the more dangerous players. Halep and Rezai are fair players but they aren't exactly Slam contenders and the dropped sets do imply that the American is below her standard right now.
Maria Kirilenko is up next for Williams, a player that the American should beat even if she is not playing her best. However a prospective fourth round match against Marion Bartoli could prove to be a huge threat to Williams' run as the French player has played exceptionally well lately.