Kim Clijsters [ Images ] beat Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru 6-1, 6-2 in her first competitive match of 2011 to ease into the second round of the Sydney [ Images ] International on Sunday.
The third-seeded Belgian did not face a single break point in the 62-minute match, which set up a second-round contest against Nadia Petrova [ Images ] or a qualifier in the $990,500 warm up for the year's first major.
The 27-year-old former world number one was knocked out of Australian Open [ Images ] by Russian Petrova last year, her first return to the tournament after taking two years out of the game to have a child.
"I had a good feeling with the way I was playing in Thailand and I was looking to lift my game up even a bit more," Clijsters, who won an exhibition match against world number one Caroline Wozniacki [ Images ] in Thailand last week, said.
"I'm happy with the level that I played and with my intensity and my focus and everything. It was a good match today."
Twice grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova [ Images ] also reached the second round by beating 2009 Australian Open quarter-finalist Jelena Dokic [ Images ] 6-2, 6-2.
The Russian's victory over wildcard Dokic, who has been suffering from a stomach virus, earned her a second-round tie against Australian number one Sam Stosur or Clijsters' compatriot Yanina Wickmayer [ Images ].
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