Angelique Kerber rallied from a set down to beat wildcard Cornelia Lister and reach the second round of the Ericsson Open in her first match since losing to Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final.

Australian Open champion Kerber was denied a second major title by Williams at the All England Club this month and was in danger of suffering a shock defeat in Bastad on Wednesday.

The top seed recovered from losing the opening set to win 2-6 6-4 6-4 and set up a round two encounter with Lara Arruabarrena.

World number two Kerber was broken three times in the opening set before finding her rhythm in the heat to oust the 664-ranked Lister, who gave a good account of herself in her homeland but was unable to pull off a shock.

Karolina Schmiedlova claimed her first WTA Tour win since January when she beat Susanne Celik in the first round on Monday, but Katerina Siniakova beat the fifth seed 6-3 4-6 6-4 two days later.

Mona Barthel, winner of this tournament two years ago and a runner-up last year, lost in straights sets to Karin Knapp in the second round.