Kim Clijsters said she was looking forward to some much needed match practice after powering past Romania’s Simona Halep in the first round of the Brisbane International on Sunday. Clijsters, who won the season-opening Brisbane tournament in 2010 in a classic final against Justine Henin, blasted through the first set then held off Halep in the second to win 6-1, 6-4. The 28-year-old Belgian will be trying to defend her Australian Open crown later this month but concedes to being a bit rusty after missing the last seven months of 2011 with injury problems. “It’s important for me to get back into that kind of match rhythm,” Clijsters said after her win over Halep. “I think it’s difficult to get into that rhythm of playing matches a couple of days in a row.
