The Belgium former world No. 1, preparing for her first Wimbledon since 2006 after coming out of retirement last year, was in scintillating form in the seaside sunshine, making light work of her Czech opponent.
“It was a good one, wasn’t it?,” Clijsters told reporters. “It’s a good sign, a good feeling.
“I’m playing good tennis, that’s the most important thing. It’s important not to be too tired. I want to keep this level. I’ve played two matches well, I want to keep that going, I want to stay mentally focused.”
Clijsters, who has never got past the semi-finals at Wimbledon, will face Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the last eight after she easily beat British qualifier Heather Watson.
French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur also reached the last eight, although she had a tough time against Slovakia’s Daniella Hantuchova before winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in breezy conditions.
“Considering the conditions out there, we played a good quality match,” Stosur told reporters. “Grass is difficult sometimes, you add the wind and everything else. It is what it is, it’s good to get as many matches as possible.”
Former US Open and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, bidding to rediscover some form before Wimbledon, survived an epic tussle against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea before winning 4-6, 7-6, 7-6.
Kuznetsova will face fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova in the quarterfinals.
There were two encouraging results for British players before the Wimbledon fortnight starting next week.
Elena Baltacha beat China’s Zheng Jie 6-2 1-6 6-3 to set up a last eight encounter with Stosur while in the men’s event James Ward, who on Tuesday eliminated second seed Feliciano Lopez, overcame Germany’s Rainer Schuettler 6-3 7-5.
Top seed Nicolas Almagro bowed out, retiring when a set down against Denis Istomin.
In Den Bosch, Netherlands, top-seeded Justine Henin has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Unicef Open in her first grass-court tournament in three years.
Henin defeated Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-3, 6-3 in their second-round match.
Fifth-seeded Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania also secured a place in the final eight, defeating Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.
In the men’s competition, defending champion Benjamin Becker of Germany defeated Henri Kontinen of Finland 6-2, 6-1.
Third-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain lost to German Simon Greul 6-1, 6-4, and Santiago Giraldo knocked out fourth-seeded Viktor Troicki 6-4, 6-4.
