Serena takes a spill, then advances

MELBOURNE, Australia -- After taking a tumble on the next-to-last point of the match, Serena Williams got up and whipped a backhand winner down the line to finish off her second-round match at the Australian Open and her 500th career win.

With the 6-0, 6-4 victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova today, Williams extended her winning streak to 16 matches at Melbourne Park, where she won back-to-back titles in 2009 and '10 but couldn't play last year because of injury.

Her participation had been in doubt again after she badly sprained her ankle two weeks ago at a warmup tournament, which is why the Rod Laver Arena went silent when Williams fell onto the court in the penultimate rally and sat, watching, as Strycova's shot floated out.

"It's fine. I just have wobbly ankles," Williams said in a TV interview after the match. "I wasn't meant to be a ballerina or anything."

Maria Sharapova, one of the other two former champions in the draw, also reached the third round. The 2008 champion had a 6-0, 6-1 win over U.S. qualifier Jamie Hampton in 64 minutes, two days after beating Argentina's Gisela Dulko by the same margin.

Sharapova did not play in any warmup events and spent nearly two weeks in Melbourne ahead of the season's first major while she rested an injured left ankle.

"It was more about getting my feet going . . . worrying about myself," Sharapova said. "Yeah, started my preparations in the offseason a little late, took a bit of extra time in practice instead of rushing into a tournament."

Seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva, a two-time semifinalist at Melbourne Park, beat Lucie Hradecka, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

In men's matches, top-seeded Novak Djokovic cruised to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Santiago Giraldo and No. 6 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Ricardo Mello, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.