US Open: Kim Clijsters eases past Victoria Duval in straight sets

Kim Clijsters began her final Grand Slam tournament before retirement with a comfortable win over American teenager Victoria Duval at the US Open.

Clijsters, champion in 2005, 2009 and 2010, won her first-round match 6-3 6-1 against the 16-year-old.

The Belgian faces a second-round meeting with Britain's Laura Robson, who beat Samantha Crawford.

Defending champion Sam Stosur went through, as did Maria Sharapova and top seed Victoria Azarenka.

Australian Stosur, the number seven seed, brushed aside Croatia's Petra Martic to triumph 6-1 6-1 in just 51 minutes.

Russian number three seed Sharapova, the 2006 champion, was also untroubled as she saw off Hungary's Melinda Czink 6-2 6-2.

Australian Open champion Azarenka, of Belarus, took 50 minutes to overpower Russia's Alexandra Panova 6-0 6-1.

Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, the fifth-seeded Czech, and France's Marion Bartoli, seeded eighth, enjoyed straight-sets wins over Slovenia's Polona Hercog and Jamie Hampton of the United States respectively.

Clijsters, seeded 23rd, was pleased to come through without too many problems against Duval, who was making her Grand Slam debut.

"It's an overwhelming situation to be in, and at the beginning, she was a bit nervous - and you have to get a feel for it," said 29-year-old Clijsters, who is retiring at the end of the season to spend more time with her family.

"But once she settled down, she was pretty happy with the way she played."

Stosur enjoyed a convincing victory, winning the first 19 points against Martic and hitting 10 aces in the match.

She said: "I'm happy with the way I played; I served really well. There isn't really anything that I'd say I have to go out on the practice court and work on."

Sharapova, this year's French Open champion and a silver medallist at the London Olympics, also enjoyed her return to Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"It's great to be back on a court where I have so many great memories," she said. "This is the last Grand Slam event of the season. This is where it all happens."

Three seeds suffered early exits, with Germany's Julia Goerges, seeded 18th, and 16th seed Sabine Lisicki, beaten in straight sets by Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic and Romania's Sorana Cirstea respectively.

Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues, the number 27 seed, lost to another Czech player, Lucie Hradecka.