Clearly both Serena and Venus Williams are taking some time to round back into form after long absences from tennis.

But just as clear is that when they are ready to turn their games on, the sisters are still two of the most dominant tennis players in the world. That was certainly evident Thursday when Serena Williams bounced back from a first set loss to defeat Simona Halep 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 and advance to the third round of Wimbledon.

Williams, who was out of tennis for a year due to a foot injury that led to life-threatening blood clots in her lungs, came roaring back after looking out of the synch in the first set. It was obvious the defending Wimbledon champion is still not back to the form that has seen her win 13 Grand Slam singles titles, but she is still powerful enough to dominate on the court.

"I'm just happy to be playing, and hopefully I'll get better as the tournament goes on," Williams said afterward. "It was a little windy out there, and I just was a little tight, so I just got to relax and enjoy myself more."

After surviving a slow start Tuesday, Williams was moved to tears as she considered all she had through in the last year. But there were no tears Thursday.

In fact Serena seemed closer to her old self when asked by reporters what it meant that all four of her matches since her return last week have gone three sets.

"I guess I just want to play longer matches because I can get more practice," she said.

Interestingly, once the seventh-seeded Williams seemed to want to turn it on Thursday there wasn’t much the 19-year-old Halep could do about it. Halep went up 4-2 in the second set and from there Serena won eight of the final nine games to advance.

Information obtained from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Contact Terrance Harris at terrancefharris@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @Terranceharris

(Photo: AP Photo/Alastair Grant)