MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)—U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters made short work of a fellow former No. 1 player, beating Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-0 in a first-round match at the Australian Open.
Clijsters never allowed the 2009 Australian Open finalist to get into the match, placing pinpoint forehands to all areas of the court. When Safina did have an opportunity to return, her many unforced errors gave away the point to Clijsters.
Safina’s best chance of winning a game came in the last game, but her attempted winner was buried deep into the middle of the net. Two points later, Clijsters completed the rout when Safina made yet another unforced error.