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The much-anticipated quarterfinal between the back-from-retirement Belgians dissolved in 52 minutes on Friday at the Australian Open.

That’s the time it took for Kim Clijsters to lose, in embarrassing fashion, her third-round match at the season’s first Grand Slam tournament.

The 6-0, 6-1 loss to No. 19 Nadia Petrova was as one-sided as the score indicated. Clijsters lost the first set in just 18 minutes and won only five points in her first seven games.

Justine Henin, another Belgian who was inspired to return to the tour after a 20-month absence after Clijsters won last year’s US Open, did her part, with some difficulty, earlier on Friday, beating Alisa Kleybanova 3-6, 6-5, 6-2. The two Belgians had been on track to meet in the final eight at Melbourne Park.

“I was completely off. I think tennis-wise, I didn’t feel the ball at all,” Clijsters said.

“On the other hand, she was good, but I made all the mistakes and she really didn’t have to do much,” she added.

Henin will play Yanina Wickmayer in the fourth round.

Second-seeded Dinara Safina, the 2009 finalist, advanced with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Britain’s Elena Baltacha. But former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic was upset 6-2, 6-3 by No. 31 Alona Bondarenko.

Andy Murray, US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Roddick and Fernando Gonzalez, all advanced to the fourth round.

No. 5 Murray beat Florent Serra of France 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 and is one victory away from a potential quarterfinal with Nadal.

First, Murray will have to beat American John Isner, who continued his strong form by beating 12th-seeded Gael Monfils of France 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5).

Del Potro beat Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 and seventh-seeded Roddick advanced with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Feliciano Lopez of Spain.

Gonzalez, a 2007 finalist here and seeded 11th, beat Evgeny Korolev of Kazakhstan 6-7 (5), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. AP