Start court proceedings (5)

I believe the answer is:

serve

'start court proceedings?' is the definition.
(a serve can start a tennis match on a court)

This is the entire clue.

(Other definitions for serve that I've seen before include "Bring food to table" , "Perform duties for" , "Put the ball in play in 7 down" , "Function (as)" , "Work for; tennis stroke" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail and The Telegraph.

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