TENNIS: Clijsters cruises into 3rd round

MELBOURNE, Australia - Defending champion Kim Clijsters cruised into the third round of the Australian Open and then showed just how much support she has at Rod Laver Arena by getting the crowd to sing 'Happy Birthday' to her younger sister.

Clijsters only needed 47 minutes to beat Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France 6-0, 6-1 on Wednesday, conceding just 10 points in the first set and showing no signs of a hip problem that forced her to retire during a semifinal against Daniela Hantuchova at a warmup tournament two weeks ago.

She will meet Hantuchova in the next round here, and has a potential rematch of the 2011 Australian Open final with Li Na in the fourth.

Roger Federer, who has won four of his 16 Grand Slam titles in Australia, got a walkover into the third round when Andreas Beck of Germany withdrew from their scheduled Hisense Arena match due to a lower back injury. It deprived Federer of a different view at Melbourne Park, where he has played every match in Rod Laver Arena since the third round of the 2004 Australian Open. He'll meet either Ivo Karlovic of Croatia or Carlos Berlocq of Argentina in the next round.

Eighth-ranked Mardy Fish became the first top 10 player on the men's side to lose, falling 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (6) to Colombia's Alejandro Falla.

No. 7 Tomas Berdych advanced 6-1, 6-0, 7-6 (4) over Olivier Rochus of Belgium and Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany was leading 6-0, 4-0 when Spain's Pere Riba retired with an injured left foot.

Taiwan's Yen-hsun Lu beat French qualifier Florent Serra in straight sets and No. 30 Kevin Anderson of South Africa beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Clijsters and No. 20 Hantuchova, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 winner over Lesia Tsurenko, have been playing each other for years.

"When the injury happened, it happened against Daniela," Clijsters said of the hip muscle spasms she had at the Brisbane International. "She's been playing well this season so far.

"We both go back a long way - we grew up playing under-14s together. Now almost 30 - still battling it out."

This was Clijsters best run at a major since the last Australian Open - she lost in the second round at the French Open and didn't play Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Li is also returning to form, going further than she has a Grand Slam tournament since her breakthrough win at the French Open. She next plays No. 26 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, who beat Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-1, 6-0.

Li said she loved being back on Rod Laver Arena, where she burst onto the global tennis scene last year, while Clijsters still clearly feels at home on a court where she's still known as "Aussie Kim" long after her relationship with Lleyton Hewitt ended.

Li took longer for her second-round win, saying it was harder than the scoreline suggested. She also has fond memories of Melbourne

Li, who will be 30 next month and is seeded No. 5 at Melbourne Park, said she had great memories of the start of 2011.

"I'm feeling always good to come back to Rod Laver Arena," she said, reflecting on how her life had changed dramatically since last season started. "This year is much better than last year - more fans come to watch me play."