Clijsters opens Aussie with rout of Safina

MELBOURNE, Australia - Kim Clijsters is one of the friendliest players on the women's tour. Cheery in the locker room, generous, polite.

That's off the court.

She learned by losing three major singles finals that intensity is essential to winning a major, something she's hoping to do outside the United States for the first time. Clijsters started her Australian Open run with a 6-0, 6-0 romp Tuesday. Such domination is not uncommon in the early rounds of a Grand Slam tournament when top seeds face lowly ranked players, qualifiers or wild cards.

To do it, however, against three-time major singles finalist and former No. 1-ranked player Dinara Safina was remarkable. Safina had no answers for Clijsters, who sprayed winners all over the court. And Clijsters, a three-time U.S. Open champion, offered no letup.

"When you feel that your opponent is not playing their best tennis, you really just try not to focus on that too much," she said. "You try not to become a little bit more easygoing . . . You try to keep that same mentality as when you started 0-0."

Safina was less than pleased at her "embarrassing" performance, and didn't think she warranted any reprieves from Clijsters.

"Give her a game?" Clijsters said. "No, I mean, I do feel bad. I even caught myself like at five-love, she hit those couple backhands down the line, 'Yeah, that's it!' " she said, smiling. "But I wouldn't give her a game."

The first-round match involving Australian Lleyton Hewitt, Clijsters' ex-fiance, was altogether different - a 4-hour, 48-minute, five-set loss to Argentinian David Nalbandian that ended at 1:10 a.m Wednesday Australian time.

The Argentine drew begrudging applause from the parochial Rod Laver Arena crowd for his grit. Nalbandian was a point from going two breaks down in the fourth, he wasted a chance to serve for the match in the fifth, saved two match points, then finished with a pinpoint lob as both players struggled with cramps and fatigue.

"What I take out of today? I take the brave heart that I put on the court," he said.

In matches early Wednesday, Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the third round, 6-1, 6-0, over American Vania King and Justine Henin continued her comeback from injury with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Elena Baltacha of Britain. Andy Roddick beat Russian Igor Kunitsyn, 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-3, and Tommy Robredo topped 16th-seeded Mardy Fish, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.