The World No. 1 Serena Williams fought back 0-5 in the first set and won the match against Spanish qualifier Silvia Soler Espinosa at the China Open in Beijing on Monday.

After retiring from her matchup against Alize Cornet of France at the Wuhan Open last week due to dizziness, the 33-year-old Williams wasn't even sure that she will be healthy enough to compete in Beijing.

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The 18-time Grand Slam champion started off flat-footed in the first set as she dropped her serve three times to go behind 0-5 in just 15 minutes of play.

But the U.S. Open winner would not be dealt with a big fat zero in her resume as she fought back hard to finally break the Spaniard and get a point on board.

"I didn't want to lose 6-love," Williams said after the match. "I just started fighting. I was like, just let me at least try to break here."

Williams continued her romp and finishes the set with a 7-5 win. She then went on to the second set feeling more pumped up and finished the match 7-5 6-2.

"Finally I decided I'm here, I may as well see what happens," Williams said. "I'm feeling a lot better. I have more energy."

Williams will now face Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round.

In other matches, Frenchwoman Cornet pulled another upset against 10^th seed Jelena Janovic in three sets 7-5 3-6 6-4.

The 24-year-old Cornet will face American Lauren Davis next who defeated China qualifier Xu Yifan 6-3 6-3.

U.S. Open semifinalist Peng Shuai of China defeated fellow compatriot in straight sets 6-4 6-1 to setup a matchup against Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the next round.

Australian Samantha Stosur won against Italian qualifier Francesca Schiavone 6-4 6-2 and will go up against sixth seeded Caroline Wozniacki next.

Tagsserena williams, Alize Cornet, Peng Shuai, Caroline Wozniacki