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CARSON, July 22 (Reuters) : Top seed Serena Williams struggled to overcome Eleni Daniilidou 6-1 7-6 in the second round of the JP Morgan Chase Open Wednesday, her first match since losing the Wimbledon final.
In a sloppy encounter played in intense heat, Williams struggled with her footwork and control against the big-hitting Greek, who had not won a match since early May coming into the tournament.
Daniilidou intelligently mixed up her shots in the second set and troubled Williams with her backhand slice, but the American hammered at her opponent's forehand until she eventually broke it down.
"I struggled a little bit too much ... it was just really hot out there," Williams said.
"She definitely picked up her level and I kind of lost a little focus. I was winning easy and I was up a break in the second and got a little too excited.
"But I knew once I got into the tiebreak that I had a really good chance of winning because I was beginning to serve well."
Williams, who was stunned by 17-year-old Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon, debuted a new a lime green dress at the tournament being played close to where she grew up in Compton. Even though the stadium was less than half full, the crowd was in full vocal support of their native daughter.
"A lot of people out there were screaming 'Serena' and I hadn't heard that lately," she said. "It was cool."
Third seed Lindsay Davenport continued her winning run with a 7- 5 6-2 victory over Luxembourg's Anne Kremer. Davenport beat Venus Williams in the final at Stanford last week.
Other seeded winners included number five Svetlana Kuznetsova, who eased past Maria Vento-Kabchi 6-3 6-3; number six Ai Sugiyama, a 6-2 6-4 victor over Nicole Pratt; and number 15 Amy Frazier, who beat Barbara Schett 6-4 6-4.
Eighth seed Vera Zvonareva advanced without hitting a ball when Tina Pisnik pulled out of their match with a neck strain.
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