Belgian Kim Clijsters's fairytale return to grand slam tennis came to a shuddering halt at the Australian Open just as compatriot Justine Henin's own comeback started to gather momentum.
Clijsters was dumped from the first grand slam of the year after losing 6-love 6-1 to Russia's Nadia Petrova.
The result was shocking enough but the scoreline defied all expectations, coming just four months after the Belgian won the U.S. Open.
Statistics can sometimes be misleading but the numbers in this match accurately summed up the thrashing.
Clijsters won just five points in the first set and 17 in total. It was all over in 52 minutes.
Clijsters's loss overshadowed a special milestone by her compatriot and long-time rival Henin, who beat Russia's Alisa Kleybanova 3-6 6-4 6-2, marking her 500th career win.
Henin would have reached her landmark a lot earlier if she had not decided to suddenly quit the sport in 2008 when she was the number one player in the world.
