Serena through after unusual end to match

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) Double former Wimbledon champion Serena Williams claimed her place in the third round today despite looking far from her best in a 7-6 6-3 win over Australian Alicia Molik.

The match was settled on an unusual note when the electronic line-calling device Hawkeye was called on to determine a Molik shot was out -- although the players had already shaken hands at the net believing a later Williams effort had been the winner.

Williams said Molik had not heard that the ball had been called out and afterwards the umpire had told the Australian she could challenge the call if she wanted to.

''I told her: 'You may as well. I would have challenged it too. I'm not upset. I'm not going to hold it against you','' Williams told a news conference.

She added that, although she would probably have appreciated the suggestion too, it was not for umpires to advise players when to make a challenge.

''I thought that was a little weird,'' she said. ''I don't know if that's in the handbook to suggest to challenge a call.'' The seventh seed looked deflated at 4-1 down in the first set after Molik broke her in the fourth game but she composed herself to break back in the seventh and the 11th.

''I was really angry. I thought it was unfair that I got down so far. 4-1 looks worse than one break,'' Williams said.

The 25-year-old American had set point on her serve at 6-5 but sent a forehand into the net and eventually lost the game.

In the ensuing tiebreak, Williams came from behind to nail the set with an ace and a loud ''Come on!''.

The 2002 and 2003 champion again faltered early in the second set, dropping her serve in the third game but then seemed to find her confidence to come back at her opponent with a double break.

''I'm excited to get through today because I knew it wasn't going to be really easy at all,'' said Williams, who clinched her eighth grand slam title in Australia this year in a win that signalled the end of a bad spell during which she dropped out of the top 100.

REUTERS NY KP2307