Easy for Clijsters, Li
2011 finalists into last 32 with minimum of fuss
Last Updated: January 18, 2012 8:39am
Kim Clijsters: Defending champion faces Hantuchova next
Last year's finalists Kim Clijsters and Li Na both raced into the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
The pair dropped just five games between them in their second-round matches in Melbourne.
Li, beaten in the final 12 months ago, was first up on Rod Laver Arena and she brushed aside the challenge of home hope Olivia Rogowska, winning 6-2 6-2.
Defending champion Clijsters followed her on to court and was even more convincing as she thrashed France's Stephanie Foretz Gacon, conqueror of Briton Elena Baltacha in round one, 6-0 6-1 in just 47 minutes.
Li, the fifth seed and last year's French Open champion, dropped serve early but responded with three breaks of her own to cruise through the first set.
And there was never any chance of a comeback as she broke the Australian wild card's serve twice more to advance in just 62 minutes.
Clijsters also broke five times as she again proved the hip injury which forced her out of the Brisbane International is on the mend.
Happy
"I felt like I was hitting the ball well, seeing the ball well. I'm happy with the win," she said.
Things should now get tougher for Clijsters - she will next meet 20th seed Daniela Hantuchova, who beat Lesia Tsurenko 4-6 6-4 6-3.
Li faces Anabel Medina Garrigues, a 6-1 6-0 victor over Olga Govortsova, in the last 32.
One seed did lose early on the third day, though - number 16 Shuai Peng going down 6-2 6-4 to Czech Iveta Benesova.
