Dinara Safina of Russia returns to Kim Clijsters of Belgium during the first round women's single match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 18, 2011. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)

 

Despite of a two-month pre-season and feeling motivated, Safina found it hard to come back on the court as she suffered first-round exits twice at Auckland and Hobart, and now the third consecutive one.

"I've been looking forward for this match. We played many times. From my side, I was like, Okay, just go out there and play your game and see. Once you play your game, you can see how you can hurt her, or at least to play...But today she was just cruising and cruising." Safina said disappointedly.

Clijsters, who had expected her opponent to come back and play her best tennis, hardly felt any pressure from the other side of the court before she led 5-0 in the second set, holding two match points.

"I think she played her best game at 5-Love in the second set where she started playing her usual game that I'm used to playing against her where she goes down the line with the backhand, where she's serving bigger first serves," said Clijsters. "But, you know, a little late."

Safina saved three match points before she wasted a chance to win her first game and delivered another three unforced errors to end the embarrassing match.

"I guess something was not right. I don't know. I have to figure out the answers," said a confused Safina. "To lose two tournaments in a row 6-Love, 6-1, 6-Love, 6-Love. It's really to scratch the head and to think what the hell I'm doing."

"I want to come back and I want to play better. But now I have to find answers how I can come back." She added.

The younger sister of the former Australian Open champion Marat Safin admitted that the loss really hurt her, and the first thing she would have to do is to find out what were the mistakes and then work on them.

"I have to do something, watch the video, what is missing, what is such a big difference what they making," she said. "And then to go on the court to focus, to close your eyes, head, and say, Okay, with the track suit, racquet and go and work."