World number two Clijsters was far from her best in her first meeting with the world number 40 Errani.

In a match littered with service breaks Clijsters eventually found her range on her groundstroke’s and went on to beat the Italian 6-3 2-6 6-4.

Next up for Clijsters is 15th seed Marion Bartoli, who beat the 21st seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany, 6-4, 6-2. Clijsters goes into that match with a 3-0 head to head.

"Today was tricky but the opposite kind of tricky to what's next," Clijsters said. "Marion hits the ball very fast and likes to play into the court. She also likes playing girls who play fast. I have to go for those lines and make her move. I can't let her go into the court and use those down-the-lines too much."

Fifth seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone and 19th seed and former world number one Ana Ivanovic came through their third-round matches in straight sets.