Justine keeps it short on return

With one former womens No.1 making an early exit and the current one not playing until Tuesday,it was just as well that Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin...

With one former womens No.1 making an early exit and the current one not playing until Tuesday,it was just as well that Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin came back to give the Australian Open some first-day lustre on a rainy,dreary day at Melbourne Park.

Former top-ranked Maria Sharapova was a surprise 7-6 (4) 3-6 6-4 loser on Monday to fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko. US Open champion Clijsters,also a former No.1,easily won her first-round match 6-0 6-4 over Canadian qualifier Valerie Tetreault. Later,another former No.1 also on the comeback trail,seven-time Grand Slam singles winner Justine Henin,advanced with a 6-4 6-3 win over fellow Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal beat Australias Peter Luczak 7-6 (0) 6-1 6-4. The Spanish left-hander didnt find his rhythm until the latter part of the first set against Luczak,dominating the tiebreaker and much of the remainder of the match.

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Steady rain first delayed the start of play on outside courts,then forced several suspensions and more than a dozen postponements.

Untroubled

Henin was mostly untroubled in beating Flipkens,getting a service break in the ninth game,then holding to take the set. Henins trademark groundstrokes were on display,augmented by a number of forays to the net and a drop shot that Flipkens didnt come close to retrieving. I think its the way I have to play if I am to get better on grass also in the future, Henin said of her time at the net. Henins next match is against fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva,who downed Vera Dushevina 6-2 6-1. Second seed Dinara Safina won her first-round match,beating Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-4 6-4. French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 6-1 6-2.

US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro beat American Michael Russell 6-4 6-4 3-6 6-2 and No. 5 Andy Murray defeated South Africas Kevin Anderson 6-1 6-1 6-2. Seventh-seeded Andy Roddick beat Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 6-1 6-4 6-4.

KEY RESULTS

Women: 27-Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) bt Jelena Dokic (AUS) 6-1 7-5; 5-Elena Dementieva (RUS) bt Vera Dushevina (RUS) 6-2 6-1; 3-Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) bt Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 6-1 6-2; 12-Flavia Pennetta (ITA) bt Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 6-3 3-6 6-2; Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) bt Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) 1-6 7-5 10-8.

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Men: Bernard Tomic (AUS) bt Guillaume Rufin (FRA) 6-3 6-4 6-4; Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) bt 13-Radek Stepanek (CZE) 2-6 7-6 (5) 6-4 3-6 6-4; 11-Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) bt Olivier Rochus (BEL) 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-1; 24-Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) bt Jason Kubler (AUS) 6-1 6-2 6-2

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