Clijsters and Sharapova prevail
Grand slam champions Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters moved a step closer to hoisting another major trophy after both claimed straight-sets victories on the sixth day of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
Rain caused the majority of the matches on the outside courts to be either delayed and moved to the main courts or postponed until Sunday - but both Sharapova and Clijsters easily accounted for their less-experienced rivals.
Top seed Sharapova overcame 30th seed Tathiana Garbin of Italy 6-3 6-1, while Clijsters inflicted a 6-3 6-3 defeat on Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine.
Sharapova admitted afterwards: "I thought (my match) was pretty good.
"I thought I was a bit slow in the beginning of the match. I was letting her play her game a little too much."
Clijsters said: "I'm very happy we're going into the second week. This is what you do it for, this is where it all starts from.
"There's no better feeling than knowing all the work you do in the off-season pays off."
Three-time champion Martina Hingis continued her love affair with the year's first grand slam, overcoming Japan's Aiko Nakamura 6-2 6-1 in the third round.
