World number two Kim Clijsters limped into the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday, defeating Chinese qualifier Yuan Meng 6-4, 6-2 despite suffering a recurrence of a hip injury.
The Belgian second seed appeared tentative and in pain at times during the first set, which she won by breaking Yuan's serve in the 10th game, and immediately called a medical time-out to receive courtside treatment from a trainer.
The US Open champion battled through the second set as the pair traded three successive service breaks before she finished the match with a crunching backhand volley past the error-prone Yuan, who was playing in her first Grand Slam event.
"I'm happy with the win but my body doesn't feel too good at the moment," Clijsters told Australian television.
Clijsters appeared on the verge of quitting as she sat courtside at the end of the first set, looking up into the Rod Laver Arena stands towards her physiotherapist cousin, Tim Clijsters.
But the 22-year-old, a finalist in Melbourne in 2004, said she had not thought of retiring from the match.
"As long as it doesn't get worse, I'll fight until I'm done," Clijsters said.
Clijsters injured herself during a warm-up for the Sydney International last week and played her first round match on Tuesday with the help of pain killers.
She again appeared to struggle with the injury, especially on her forehand side.
Clijsters will play either 27th seed Marion Bartoli of France or Italian Roberta Vinci in the third round on Saturday and could go on to meet fifth seed Mary Pierce of France in the quarter-finals.
She said she would spend the time between her next match getting intensive treatment on her injury.
"We're just trying to get the inflammation in my back and my hip down," she said.
