THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BERLIN -- Teenager Sabine Lisicki upset 14th-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel 7-5, 6-1 Monday in the first round of the German Open. The 18-year-old German trailed 4-3 in the first set before taking over the clay-court match at the French Open warm-up tournament. "I love to play in Berlin and I desperately wanted to play well," said Lisicki, who reached the third round at the Australian Open. "Of course such a victory stimulates me and gives me self-confidence." Tenth-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary advanced to the second round when Milagros Sequera of Venezuela retired while trailing 6-2, 3-0, and 2006 champion Nadia Petrova of Russia beat Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (2). Aravane Razai of France advanced on a walkover when former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of France, the 2001 and '04 champion, withdrew because of a rib injury. American Serena Williams enters the German Open exuding confidence, something Justine Henin of Belgium badly needs to regain at one of her favourite tournaments. Williams's 15-match winning streak includes a 6-2, 6-0 win over Henin at the Sony Ericsson Open in March. That was the top-ranked player's last match before a knee injury, and it followed a 6-4, 6-0 loss to Russian Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open. The German Open, however, has been the place Henin tanks up on confidence before she heads to Roland Garros, where she has won four French Open titles. "I love this tournament. The German Open has really been good to me -- I've won it three times," Henin said. "If I'm going to get my confidence back, it's probably here. I really needed these few weeks off to make tennis my priority again." The weeks off left Henin thinking about the end of her career ahead of her 26th birthday on June 1. "It will come in two, three, four, five years. It's hard to say," Henin said. "Motivation is the most important thing now. I'm an athlete, but as a woman, I have to find balance in my life." The German Open has drawn six of the world's top seven players, with Sharapova being the only exception. "It's a very strong field," said defending champion Ana Ivanovic. "It's very exciting for all of us." Like Henin, the 20-year-old Serb calls the German Open a pivotal event in her career. Ranked 15th when she won last year, she has climbed to No. 2 in the world. "This was the tournament that made me. I found my game here," Ivanovic said. "The pressure will be on me this time, but I'm not used to defending a title much, so I really want to learn about that." Williams has a 19-1 record this year and her 31st career title at the Family Circle Cup last month ended a drought on clay dating back to the 2002 French Open win. "I feel like Rafael Nadal on clay. I love clay," the eight-time Grand Slam champion joked in reference to the second-ranked Spaniard, who has won 103 of his last 104 matches on the surface. Williams also attributes her three titles this year to making tennis her priority again. "I'm really healthy. I'm just focused. I'm practising more," Williams said. "I think it's all coming together."
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