MELBOURNE, Australia - All those worries about Maria Sharapova after her tough first-round match in the Australian Open?

Forget about it.

The top women’s seed, who endured three hours of broiling heat in her first-round match Tuesday, needed only 58 minutes to beat fellow Russian Anastassia Rodionova 6-0, 6-3 on Thursday.

“My brain cells were restored today,” said Sharapova, who described herself as delusional in her last match. “It was nice to get a quick one in there today.”

Two other friends — Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis — raced to see who could finish their match first and took another step toward a possible quarterfinals showdown.

Clijsters extended the winning start to her farewell tour, beating Akiko Morigami 6-3, 6-0 in 59 minutes.

“I’ve always enjoyed coming here, but this year it’s even more special than in the past,” Clijsters said. “You appreciate it so much more, I think. And you think it’s the last time, you just try to suck everything in, and it’s a good feeling to have.”

Joking that she and Clijsters were racing to finish their matches, Hingis continued to build momentum in her comeback after three years away with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Russian Alla Kudryavtseva.

The 23-year-old Clijsters, who has announced she is retiring at the end of this season to start a family, recovered from an inconsistent opening set to run through the second.

“I won in two pretty easy sets, so I’m not complaining,” she said.

She finished nine minutes faster than Hingis, who lost a little time when she was broken while serving for the match at 5-1.

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Sixth-seeded Hingis won three straight Australian titles from 1997 and then lost three consecutive finals before quitting the tour because of nagging foot and ankle problems.

Her comeback to the Australian Open in 2006 ended in a quarterfinal loss to Clijsters.

“I think I can get better. I wouldn’t be out here if I didn’t think so,” said Hingis, who next meets Aiko Nakamura of Japan, a surprise 6-3, 6-2 winner over India’s Sania Mirza.

Also advancing on the women’s side were ninth-seed Dinara Safina, No. 12 Anna Chakvetadze, No. 13 Ana Ivanovic, No. 15 Daniela Hantuchova, No. 19 Li Na, No. 22 Vera Zvonareva, No. 29 Alona Bondarenko and No. 30 Tathiana Garbin. No. 17 Anna-Lena Groenefeld lost to American Ashley Harkleroad.

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