TENNIS in DEPTH.

In her first WTA tournament since her surprise retirement, a shellshocked Molik was thrashed 6-0 6-3 in just 60 minutes by the merciless Kim Clijsters in their much-hyped second-round clash.

The 28-year-old Australian hope had been riding high following her gritty Brisbane International opening round win – her first WTA victory in two years since coming out of retirement.

In an organiser’s dream, Molik set up a quarterfinal qualifier with old chum Clijsters, another on the comeback trail.

But it quickly became a nightmare for former world No.8 Molik whose friendship with Clijsters clearly earned her no favours.

The world No.18 dominated from the outset, taking the first set in 25 minutes against her former doubles partner on her way to winning the first eight games.

Molik looked every bit the world No.198 alongside the 26-year-old, but did receive a roar from the crowd when she finally held her serve in the ninth game of the second set.

That sparked a mini-comeback by Molik who again held serve before breaking the Belgian she has known since the age of 14 in the sixth game to lock it up 3-3.

However, former world No.1 Clijsters was in no mood to tolerate a comeback, breaking back immediately – and for the fifth time overall – before finally closing out the match in an hour.

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