Tennis: Clijsters stamps her mark

It is not so much who will win - but who can stop 'Aussie Kim'? Clijsters has been brutally efficient in the first week and, at the halfway point, looks 'a good thing' to take her first Australian Open.

That is especially given the injury absence of Venus Williams and last night's straight sets defeat of Australian hope Samantha Stosur by the Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova 7-6 6-3.

Yesterday Clijsters faced her toughest test so far but subdued Alize Cornet 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in 91 minutes. World No 83 Cornet, a popular player at the ASB Classic, is talented but erratic, her Gallic temper never far from the surface.

The Frenchwoman did seem to throw Clijsters at times with her unusual style. "She is a tricky player," said Clijsters. "I felt like I was playing two people - her forehand is very loopy with a lot of spin and her backhand is so flat."

The opening set went to a tiebreak, mainly due to 22 unforced errors from the Belgian. Clijsters, who has never lost a tiebreak across 42 matches in Melbourne, tightened her game to sprint away to 5-0, eventually sealing it 7-3. The third seed improved markedly in the second set and converted her third match point to spoil Cornet's 21st birthday.

In the fourth round, she will play world No 49 Ekaterina Makarova, who has never previously been beyond the third round in 13 grand slams.

However, it must be said that Clijsters was similarly impressive last year in Melbourne, before being thrashed 6-0 6-1 by Nadia Petrova, her biggest ever loss in a grand slam.

So what will be different in 2011? Last year, Clijsters was obviously feeling the effects of her stunning 2009 US Open, rightly lauded as one of the greatest comeback wins of all time. The weight of expectation was huge and Justin Henin's parallel return in Melbourne just seemed to add pressure.

This time round, Clijsters has another year under her belt. She had a 90 per cent winning record on hardcourts last year and a 10-1 win-loss record against top 10 players, including two recent wins over world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

Clijsters has unfinished business in Melbourne, having made one final and four semifinals across nine years; a stark contrast with the three times she has ruled New York (2005, 2009 and 2010). She has been relaxed off the court but more aggressive than ever once she crosses the white line.

"A lot of girls, even the guys, like to just get into the rally and wait until they are certain. But I think there's a lot of opportunities in the beginning of the rallies [to] put your opponent under pressure. That is something I've been doing pretty well over these last few months."

Clijsters seems to be moving better than ever, with a solid game that holds up well. She is a veteran but the 27-year-old was the youngest grand slam winner last year.

The Belgian will also have her eye on the No 1 ranking - an honour she last held in March 2006. If she lifts the trophy and Wozniacki doesn't reach the semifinals, Clijsters will be back on top of the ladder.

China's Peng Shuai and 12th seeded Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) are likely quarter-final opponents and neither could be classed as immovable objects while Vera Zvonareva will be the probable match-up in the semifinals. Clijsters has a winning 6-3 record against Zvonareva.

Promising 16th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was upset by feisty Czech Iveta Benesova, the world No 60 making the last 16 of a grand slam for the first time.

Robin Soderling blasted past qualifier Jan Herndych 6-3 6-1 6-4, with the Swede yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Andy Murray completely outclassed 32nd seed Guillermo Garcia Lopez 6-1 6-1 6-2, the only high point for the Spaniard a between the legs passing shot which Murray said had never happened to him before.

Murray is steaming along dangerously and, while he was expected to beat Lopez, the latter has a victory over Rafael Nadal to his credit in recent times - and Murray cleaned him up.

After Gael Monfils exited on Friday, there was more French blood on the floor yesterday, with 2008 finalist Jo Wilfried Tsonga losing in five sets to world No 46 Alexander Dolgopolov of Ukraine.

The other seed to fall was Mikhail Youzhny, the Russian stunned 6-4 7-5 4-6 6-4 by unheralded Canadian Milos Raonic.

Heineken Open champion David Ferrer continued his impressive run with a straight sets victory over Richard Berankis (Lithuania).