Kim Clijsters is up and running at the US Open after pummelling Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-1 6-1.
Belgian wildcard starts with demolition; Azarenka follows suit
Kim Clijsters is up and running at the US Open after pummelling Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-1 6-1 in the women's singles event.
Clijsters played beautifully and waltzed into round two in under an hour as Kutuzova failed to live with her opponent's speedy style.
The Belgian - who is playing in her first major since retiring from the game in May 2007 - fired 17 winners against the world No.79 from Ukraine and looked utterly dominant out on the Arthur Ashe court.
"It was nice to come out here on centre court and open the tournament, as I didn't get to do so as defending champion a few years ago," said Clijsters after the match.
"I'm glad I won in two sets without wasting too much energy. I had a few butterflies, more than I normally do."
The win was Clijsters' sixth since she launched her comeback and moved her forward to a second round clash against French 14th seed Marion Bartoli, whom she beat in straight-sets in her first match back in Cincinnati.
But Bartoli was impressive as she raced through her first round match to overcome Rossana De Los Rios 6-1 6-0 in a comprehensive straight-sets victory.
Eighth seed Victoria Azarenka made a safe passage into the next round after recording a 6-1 6-1 victory over Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru.
The 20-year-old Belarus right-hander will face Czech qualifier Barbora Zahlavova Strycovathe in round two after she overcame Poland's Marta Domachowska.
Azarenka could face American third seed Venus Williams in a quarter-final match-up on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts later in the event.
Number 12 seed Agnieszka Radwanska is also safely into round two, the Pole powering past Patricia Mayr 6-1 6-2 to set up an encounter with Maria Kirilenko, a 6-2 6-1 victor against Russian compatriot Mariya Koryttseva.
Italy's Francesca Schiavone also progressed after an emphatic 6-1 6-2 win against Yvonne Meusburger.
