A pain-free Serena Williams sent an ominous warning to her rivals as she crushed fellow American Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Brisbane International yesterday. <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2012/dec/Serena-Williams.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 402px;" /> Serena Williams makes a forehand shot against Varvara Lepchenko yesterday. Pic/AFP. Third seed Williams pulled out of an exhibition tournament in Thailand last week amid concerns she had not fully recovered from a foot surgery. But she looked in great touch against Lepchenko, who was never able to trouble Williams after squandering five break points in the opening game. The 15-time grand slam winner quickly found her groove as she romped away to win. &ldquo;My foot didn&rsquo;t hurt today. I was a little nervous, but I was completely fine,&rdquo; a relieved Williams said.u00a0&ldquo;I was excited to get an early start so just in case I did have any pain I could have tomorrow off, but everything was fine,&rdquo; she added. Williams entered the tournament as firm favourite after a stellar second half of 2012, during which she won Wimbledon, the US Open, the WTA Championship and the Olympics.

Former World No 1 returns from injury to open well in Brisbane

Serena Williams back with a bang

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Serena Williams back with a bang

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