By her own recollection, Serena Williams hasn’t been emotional like this, especially after a win.

Returning from almost a year out because of injuries to her feet and blood clots in her lungs, she found her appearance on Centre Court at Wimbledon, where she had her last success, too much, she said. The American beat Aravane Rezai of France 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to maintain her record of never losing in the first round of a major, capping it with her 13th ace.

That’s when she broke down.

“It just hit me at the end of the match,” Williams said in a news conference. “I’m not a crier.”

The four-time champion sat down in her chair and sobbed in her towel. She had missed 49 weeks after she claimed her 13th Grand Slam single title a year ago at the All England Club with a win over the now second-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

Williams hurt her foot by walking through glass shortly after that win, and needed two operations last year. Then came treatment on blood clots on her lungs in February.

“I didn’t expect to have the emotions,” Williams said. She recalled coming close to crying after a match once before, when she won her first Grand Slam title at the 1999 U.S. Open.

The former top-ranked player, now 29 years old and seeded No. 7, described her treatment for the blood clots as a “near-death experience.”

While on her way to a party in Los Angeles, Williams was sent to the hospital by her physiotherapist when she had difficulty breathing.

In an interview last week in Eastbourne, England, she said the experience changed her outlook on tennis and life.

Mental Moments

“I think my toughest moment was just mental,” she said. “I went through so much and I thought, ‘Will I be able to play tennis again? Do I even want to play tennis again, or do I just want to get healthy again?’ That was the first and foremost thing on my mind.”

Williams said she was able to play Wimbledon after getting a “healthy report from my doctor.” She has to wear compression socks when flying, and also has to get an injection before boarding an airplane.

Williams dropped serve in the opening game against Rezai, as an alarm went off on Centre Court and she foot faulted. After Rezai held serve for a 2-0 lead, the American won the next five games, finding rhythm on her serve and ground strokes. Rezai took the second set, as Williams made 11 unforced errors and produced only five winners. The Frenchwoman, who has dropped to No. 61 from a career-high No. 15 in October, had six errors and 10 winners.

Final Ace

Williams broke serve in the fourth game of the final set as Rezai hit a backhand wide. Watched by her parents, Oracene Price and Richard Williams, Serena took a 5-1 lead. The ace on her first match point gained her a spot in the second round against Romania’s Simona Halep.

After dominating the women’s tour through last year’s Wimbledon, Serena dropped out of the top 10 last month and is now ranked 25th. Because of her success on the grass courts in London, she’s seeded No. 7. That means she won’t play any top-eight player before the quarterfinals. Her sister Venus, who is seeded 23rd, won her first round yesterday in straight sets against Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan. The sisters can only meet in the final.

The Williams sisters have won nine of the last 11 Wimbledon singles titles. Top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Zvonareva haven’t won any. Second-ranked Kim Clijsters, who’s won four majors, is out with an injury.

Williams said she didn’t think she would have had the same reaction if her return had happened at a different Grand Slam.

“It’s Wimbledon,” Williams said. “It doesn’t get bigger than this.”