Kim Clijsters pulverised Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-3 to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday, before laughing off a joke about her "looking pregnant."
The former world number one, green dress and matching visor shimmering in the Melbourne sunshine, took just over an hour to underline her title credentials, finishing with a fierce forehand too hot for her 62nd-ranked opponent to handle.
The Belgian then pulled up a television commentator for a cheeky text he had sent another player about her.
“I saw a text you sent Rennae Stubbs,” Clijsters said to former doubles specialist Todd Woodbridge in a courtside interview. “You said you thought I was pregnant!”
“Well, are you?” asked Woodbridge, trying to hide his embarrassment.
“No I’m not pregnant!” Clijsters shot back with a laugh.
She added: “The text said: ‘She looks really grumpy and her boobs look bigger.’”
“Well that’s the end of my TV career,” said a horrified Woodbridge as a giggling Clijsters wrapped an arm around him to the delight of the Rod Laver Arena crowd.
The third seed, a three-times grand slam champion and Australian Open runner-up in 2004, had needed just 44 minutes to whitewash Russia’s Dinara Safina 6-0 6-0 in the first round.
Beaten finalist in Sydney in the build-up to the year’s first major, Clijsters tormented Suarez Navarro, who muttered angrily to herself and in the direction of her coach between points as she battled forlornly to turn the tide.
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