Lucie Safarova battles past Alison Riske in three-set epic at Wimbledon

Lucie Safarova came back from a set and a break down to beat Alison Riske at Wimbledon in the first round tonight.

Riske made her intentions known early on as she attacked Safarova's first service game and almost earned a break of serve in a 12-minute slog.

It didn't take the 24-year-old long to break Safarova though, as she raced through the set to win it 6-3.

The 28-year-old struggled in the London heat as she made 40 unforced errors, and this handed another break of serve to Riske early in the second set.

However, she struggled when it came to serving out the match, allowing Safarova to break back. The Czech player held serve next time around, and then claimed the second set when Riske double faulted.

Safarova seemed to have the momentum, but Riske immediately took it back with a break of serve in the opening game of the deciding set.

However, the French Open finalist broke back again to level the scores, as both become inconsistent on their serve, before she broke again to take the lead at 5-3.

She wrapped up the match with a thunderous forehand down the line, to move into round two.