Serena Williams to Face Sister Venus After Beating Kiki Bertens in Straight Sets

Serena Williams' return to competitive tennis took another positive step Saturday, as she defeated No. 29 Kiki Bertens 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California.

In her first official tournament since winning the 2017 Australian Open, Williams won her second match in three days after beating Zarina Diyas in the first round on Thursday.

Serena, who gave birth to her first child in September, set the stage for an anticipated third-round match with her sister, Venus Williams.

Saturday's match was a struggle at times for Serena as she looks to regain her rhythm after an extended layoff.

Bertens jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the opening set on the power of an early break, as seen in the following video, courtesy of the WTA:

Williams battled back, however, and managed to break Bertens at love to level the first set at 3-3:

Another break gave Bertens a 5-4 advantage, and she had a chance to close out the set on serve.

Williams smoked a backhand that could not be returned, however, to win another break and prolong the first set:

In a tightly contested tiebreak with Bertens trailing 5-6, the 29th-ranked player was unable to handle a hot Williams serve, and an unforced error gave Williams the set:

Williams scuffled at times in the first set, but she showed a ton of grit and fight in battling from behind and overcoming adversity.

Christopher Clarey of the New York Times pointed out that Bertens was her own worst enemy at times in the opening set:

Much like the first set, the second set was a test of wills, with Williams and Bertens trading breaks at times and struggling to hold.

With the set tied 4-4, Williams channeled her vintage form by breaking at love, punctuated by yet another unforced error by Bertens:

That gave Williams a chance to serve out the match, but in a sign that she is still finding her game, she was broken to tie it back up at 5-5:

The seesaw affair continued in the ensuing game when Williams broke once again and gave herself one more opportunity to serve her way into the third round:

Although the game went to deuce, Williams was able to hold off Bertens and end the match without going to a second tiebreak.

As seen in the following video, Williams appeared to show a combination of joy and relief after surviving the tough test:

It wasn't a vintage performance for Williams with just one ace and only 59 percent of her service points won, but she excelled in other areas.

Bertens won just 55 percent of her service points, and Williams managed to convert five of her nine break-point opportunities.

Williams improved to 3-0 in her career against Bertens, and the biggest challenge of her comeback tournament awaits in the third round.

While Serena owns three consecutive wins over her sister, Venus is ranked No. 8, and her power game could prove troublesome for Serena as she attempts to work her way back toward the top of the sport.