Defending champion Iga Swiatek narrowly avoided an early exit at Wimbledon on Tuesday, booking a spot in the second round after surviving a mighty scare at the hands of crafty American Taylor Townsend, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.

There had been mounting concerns over the Pole's form after she had come into the Championships with only one match on grass under her belt, and following an early exit at Roland Garros in the fourth round.

After dominating Townsend in the first set the error count kept creeping up for the world number three in the second, while the American's doubles-honed grass court game was on full display.

Serving and volleying in several key moments, Townsend managed to throw the Pole off her game and take the second.

The third set got under way with a marathon first game that went to deuce multiple times before Swiatek was eventually able to hold after over 20 minutes.

Townsend, who was cheered on by her friend Naomi Osaka and doubles partner Katerina Siniakova in her box, did not let that bother her and immediately levelled at 1-1.

The pair would trade breaks again, before Swiatek eventually managed to pull away, taking the decisive break at 5-3 before serving out the match.

"It was, you know, [a] tough couple of weeks and not a, you know, season where everything went how I wanted," Swiatek, who was visibly emotionally after the win, said in her on-court interview.

"Just happy to be here," she added.

"I'm happy that I could get through a match like that, because I got quite tense in the second set and then I was able to, you know, come back to my game."