Defending champion Kim Clijsters has blasted her way into the third round of the Australian Open, racing past hapless Frenchwoman Stephanie Foretz-Gacon in just 47 minutes on Wednesday.
After being challenged in the opening round by Portugal's Maria Joao Koehler on Monday, Clijsters went up a gear as she simply unleashed on the unfortunate Foretz-Gacon, who was making her first appearance at Melbourne Park in five years.
Playing an opponent who had never been beyond the third round at a major and was through to the second round for just the second time at the Australian Open, Clijsters was in a ruthless mood as she won 6-0 6-1.
The gulf between Clijsters and her opponent came in the winners count, with the Belgian No.11 seed hitting 16 to just two while she also converted five of eight break points and only had to save one herself for the entire match.
While three-time US Open champion Clijsters cruised through, her next opponent had to do it the hard way against Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, Slovakian 20th seed Daniela Hantuchova recovering from a set and a break down to win 4-6 6-4 6-3.
The woman Clijsters beat to lift the trophy at Melbourne Park 12 months ago, Li Na, had a similarly easy progression earlier at Rod Laver Arena when she brushed aside local wildcard Olivia Rogowska 6-2 6-2 just over an hour.
The Wimbledon champion's reward for her comfortable progression is a third-round match-up against Spanish 26th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, who gave little away in a 6-1 6-0 victory over Belarusian Olga Govortsova.
Li's compatriot Peng Shuai, the 16th seed, was no match for Iveta Benesova, who won the first set and then retrieved a break in the second en route to an impressive 6-2 6-4 win, with either Russian Nina Bratchikova or Italian Alberta Brianti next up for the Czech.