Serena Williams wins 16th match in a row

BERLIN -- Serena Williams won her 16th straight match, defeating Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-3 Tuesday in the second round of the German Open.

Williams is chasing her fourth straight WTA title. Her last loss came in February against Jelena Jankovic in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

The Italian fought off repeated break chances throughout the second set before her forehand sailed long and allowed Williams to take a 4-2 lead.

"I'm healthy. I'm focused. Tennis is my priority," said Williams, ranked No. 6. "Everything is just coming together. Obviously, I would like to keep up the streak. I really want to keep it up on clay. I can slide on clay and be a little bit more lazy -- I like that."

Two other seeded players also advanced. No. 8 Marion Bartoli cruised past Lucie Safarova 6-0, 6-3, and No. 7 Elena Dementieva defeated Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1, 6-2. Vera Dushevina upset ninth-seed Patty Schnyder, 6-2, 6-3, and Gisela Dulko beat No. 12 Nicole Vaidisova, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

The 20th-ranked Schiavone appeared to be a tough first match for Williams. Schiavone has 12 wins this year against Top 10 players, including No. 1 Justine Henin. She defeated Williams in their only clay match two years ago in Rome.

But Williams never had trouble with Schiavone, leading 10-3 in winners during the opening games despite trouble keeping the ball in the court.

After settling down, Williams kept the pressure on Schiavone's serve.

"This was a good first match, she's a great player to play against," Williams said. "I served well and that keeps me happy."

Williams is looking for her first title at the clay-court event, a warmup for the French Open.

Her most recent title came two weeks ago on clay in Charleston, S.C., the first on the surface since she won the 2002 French Open. That year Williams produced her best showing at the German Open, losing a three-set final to Henin.