First round result:

S Williams (US) v M Santangelo (Ita) 6-2 6-1

Watch this match live on BBC Interactive and on this website.

By Sarah Holt

Second set:

Williams 6-1 Santangelo
A ninth ace at 119mph takes Serena closer to the match and Santangelo fails to find a return at 30-0. Serena answers a smash with a defensive lob to garner a third match point. Serena seals the match with a 10th ace and whoops and jumps into the air. Serena showed signs she is back to her best - and if she is, she could be a real contender.

Williams 5-1 Santangelo
Santangelo's long looping forehands take her to 30-15 as she attempts to find a way back. Williams snaps a backhand to take the next point and the Italian goes long to hand the American a break point - which she duly takes with ease.

Williams 4-1 Santangelo
Santangelo tries to recover the break by nicking two points from Serena but the American fights back with a scorching backhand down the line for 30-30. Serena is grunting and shouting her way through this game as she moves to 40-30. A third double fault brings up deuce but a seventh and eighth ace sees the American hold.

Williams 3-1 Santangelo
Santangelo, the world number 32, seems to have lost her form out on Rod Laver - or maybe she is just finding playing Serena a little intimidating. The Italian drops a shot over the net and Serena races again to make it but hits the return wide for 40-30. A rapid return from the American brings up deuce but Santangelo stops her game winning run holding.

Williams 3-0 Santangelo
There had been accusations that Serena was a little overweight coming into the Australian season but she is moving really well on court and holds to 30 as she notches up her seventh successive game.

Williams 2-0 Santangelo
Santangelo forces Serena to thunder into the net with a delicate drop shot but she cannot get there in time and moves to 15-0. The net underdoes her pounding forehands again for 30-15. But the Italian 27th seed unravels again for deuce and a big overhead and cross-court forehand from Serena give her an easy break.

Williams 1-0 Santangelo
Serena is finding her power and accuracy and moves to 40-15. The American challenges a line call and the replays show she is right, and she is given the game.

First set:

Williams 6-2 Santangelo
Serena appears to be hitting her groove in Melbourne as she forces the Italian into a series of errors to move to 0-40 - and three set points. The American goes wide to lose one set point but a double fault from Santangelo sees Serena take the set to muted applause from the crowd.

Williams 5-2 Santangelo
Serena sends down three straight aces - one measured at 113mph - to hold in emphatic style. There is a little skip from the two-time former champion as she goes back to her chair.

Williams 4-2 Santangelo
Santangelo, who has a tattoo on the back of her neck, moves to 30-0 with some quick play. That same hasty play sees her concede the next two points and Serena forces an error for deuce. Santangelo seems to be in a lull as she hands Serena an easy break.

Williams 3-2 Santangelo
Serena fails to clear the net with an attempted forehand return for 0-15 but moves forward to get back on terms with a fierce backhand. The former world number one is now ranked as number 81 and the inconsistency that has seen her slide down the standings are on show in Melbourne, as she is taken to deuce. Serena rallies herself with shouts of "Come On" and she does manage to hold.

Williams 2-2 Santangelo
Both players seem to have shaken off a little rustiness now, and Santangelo has hit her stride as she holds to 15.

Williams 2-1 Santangelo
At last, the first rally of the match and Serena moves well across the back of the court to take the first point. But she makes a hash of a volley to hand a patient Santangelo her first break point. The Italian misses a hooked forehand for deuce. Santangelo produces some attacking shots but Serena eventually closes out the game with a drop shot over the net.

Williams 1-1 Santangelo
Serena grabs a point off the Italian and Santangelo shoots long again for 15-30. A couple of big serves rescue the 27th seed and Serena goes wide to gift her the game.

Williams 1-0 Santangelo
Serena does not let fans of her flamboyant dress sense down by wearing a luminous green outfit and big hoop earrings. The American fires down a big serve to take the first point of the match and she takes the first game to 30.

Build-up

Serena Williams faces her first major test as she continues her comeback from injury against Mara Santangelo in the first round of the Australian Open.

Williams returned to action in January after four months off with a knee injury and advanced to the quarter-finals of the Hobart International.

The American will want to do better in Melbourne, where she won the crown in 2003 and 2005.

Williams has played Santangelo, the 27th seed, only once at Wimbledon in 2005 to hold a 1-0 head-to-head record over the 25-year-old.