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| It took everything Serena Williams had to shake off Heather Watson on Friday at Wimbledon. |
Defending champion Serena Williams and sister Venus both survived scares to progress at Wimbledon.
Serena beat the world number 65 Christina McHale, 6-7 (7) 6-2 6-4 on Centre Court while Venus won 7-5 4-6 10-8 against teenager Daria Kasatkina.
Serena trailed 2-0 at the start of the deciding set but won in two hours 29 minutes on Centre Court against her fellow American.
The top seed hit 40 unforced errors in the rain-affected second round match.
Shortly after an interruption while the Centre Court roof was closed because of rain, the world number one had a set point but failed to convert.
She thought she had won the opener but was denied by a narrow Hawk-Eye overrule before the impressive McHale went on to claim it on a tie-break.
Serena said: "It was a really good match. She played great and always does against me.
"I know that mentally no one can break me and I knew being a break down in third set I had to put my mind to it and that's what I did."
Williams will now face Germany's Annika Beck in the third round.
Venus beats teenager in marathon
Rain three times interrupted 36-year-old Venus Williams, a five-time champion at Wimbledon, as she faced an opponent 17 years her junior in the third round.
The final interruption came as Williams had match point on the Kasatkina serve at 7-6 in the deciding set.
After a break of 72 minutes the Russian 29th seed impressively won three straight points to take the match further.
Both players struggled for rhythm at times during the match but it was Williams, seeded eighth at this year's Championships, who progressed to round four for the 14th time after two hours 41 minutes on court.
In the fourth round, Williams will face Spanish 12th seed Carla Suarez Navarro who beat Marina Erakovic 6-2 6-2.
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