The 21-year-old Belgian broke Martinez's serve five times on the way to a 6-4, 6-1 win over the former Wimbledon champion, as fellow Open contenders Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo also advanced without trouble.

Henin-Hardenne said parts of her game felt rusty in her first match of the year but was satisfied with her overall performance leading into next week's first Grand Slam of the year.

Last year's French and US Open champion was unfazed by the pressure of being saddled as the favourite for the Melbourne tournament in an injury-hit field missing last year's winner Serena Williams, two-time champion Jennifer Capriati, four-time winner Monica Seles and 1995 champion Mary Pierce.

With compatriot Kim Clijsters struggling to overcome an ankle injury in time and Jelena Dokic unlikely to make the long trip, Henin-Hardenne dismissed suggestions the lengthy injury list had weakened the status of the event.

Henin-Hardenne said she was in better physical condition than last year, when she reached the semi-finals.

Henin-Hardenne will meet Chanda Rubin in the quarter-finals Thursday after the American ousted Russian Lina Krasnoroutskaya 7-5, 6-2.

Davenport, one of Henin-Hardenne's main threats in the Open, defeated Vera Zvonareva of Russia 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 and will meet another Russian sixth seed Elena Dementieva in the quarter-finals.

The American, ranked fifth in the world, said she was playing without pain for the first time since last April following an off-season foot operation and believed she could continue to improve ahead of the Melbourne Grand Slam, which she won in 2000.

French No.1 Amelie Mauresmo, who eliminated American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-2, 6-3 to earn a quarters berth, said she was a good chance to improve on her 1999 Australian Open final appearance.

France's Nathalie Dechy upset world No.10 Ai Sugiyama of Japan in a first round match postponed Tuesday by rain but later in the day succumbed to Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-0, 6-4.