{blackbabes} Venus in wonderland after comeback in Melbourne

MELBOURNE (AFP) - Venus Williams reached into the world of make-believe during her amazing comeback win over unheralded Czech Sandra Zahlavova in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Wearing a self-designed dress based on "Alice in Wonderland", Williams lived out her own fantasy as she recovered from a painful groin injury to overcome the gallant Zahlavova 6-7 (6/8), 6-0, 6-4.

Williams' unusual outfit featured a yellow criss-cross pattern showing plenty of skin and a tiny patterned skirt, with flesh-coloured "nude" shorts underneath.

"The outfit is inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Don't laugh," she later said to guffaws. "It's kind of about a surprise, because when Alice goes down the hole, the rabbit hole, she finds all these things that are so surprising."

Venus, who turned heads with an extra-short, shimmery blue number in her opening match, has been the centre of attention in the absence of her injured sister Serena, known for her outlandish attire.

"This outfit is about having a surprise in tennis—a dress, and kind of, you know, showing some skin and then just having a print," she said.

"Prints don't happen that often in tennis. So it's called the Wonderland dress. It was fun."

"I put a lot of thought into my dresses," she continued. "I love fantasy, and this was kind of a way to express who I am on the court."

And her dress garnered most of the attention as Williams raced away to an early 4-1 lead before Zahlavova launched a stirring comeback.

With the tense first set deep into a tiebreak, Williams hit an overhead backhand on set point then screamed in pain as she strained a muscle in her groin.

"I think this is probably the most acute one (injury) that I've ever had," she said.

"In recent time that I can remember pain, I think this was one of the toughest ones for sure. But I just wanted to stay on the court and try to survive and see if I could feel better another day."

She did more than survive, coming out after a medical time-out to blast 15 winners past a shellshocked Zahlavova and put herself firmly back in the match.

She said she never considered not going on after the time-out.

"After the injury time-out you have to just kind of see how you're doing and how you feel," Williams said.

"For me, especially, you kind of have to get past the fear of getting worse and just kind of have to feel it out and see how it's feeling.

"So thankfully I was able to get some games on the scoreboard, and that helped a ton."

However she conceded that if the Australian Open hadn't been a Grand Slam she would not have continued.

"I think this being a major definitely has a lot to do with me staying on the court," the seven-time Grand Slam winner said.

"I really haven't retired from a match in any tournament in quite a long time. I think that's a testament to how I feel when I step on the court—I'm there to stay.

"It wasn't easy out there at all. Had it not been a major, it would have definitely been harder to continue."

Williams, playing her first tournament since the US Open after struggling with knee tendonitis, had been in serious trouble leading up to the injury with Zahlavova playing well above her world ranking of 97.

However, the steely determination of the fourth seed ensured she stayed in contention for her first ever Australian Open title, giving fans the chance to see her dress design skills at least one more time.