Kim Clijsters knows every time she steps onto the courts at the U.S. Open, it could very well be her last match as a professional tennis player.

The Belgian ensured there would be no early exits, however, with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 first round win over American 16-year-old Victoria Duval.

Clijsters will call time on her stellar career after the tournament at Flushing Meadows, her favorite event, where she has already won three Grand Slam titles. "I was just excited to be out there and to have the opportunity to play in this kind of condition, prime time," Clijsters told reporters. "A night match, it's always a very special occasion.

"The energy, when you step out on court also after the opening show, the stadium was almost full. So it was a lot of fun to go out there. But, you know, still a bit nervous, too."

Clijsters said playing against a 16-year-old had brought back memories of her time on the tour as a teenager, and keeping in mind those times, she had given some advice to her opponent Duval. "I had moments when I was younger when I played Steffi (Graf) at Wimbledon and she was my big idol," the 29-year-old said.

"So, yeah, it kind of takes you back through a lot of emotions and memories. I was talking to her (Duval) before the match. It was nice in a way to kind of get a feeling of the atmosphere from her side.

"I just told her that we've all been there and it's great to have these opportunities."

Before making her comeback to tennis, Clijsters said she was so busy, that she hadn't actually missed playing. However, once her second retirement comes to the fore, the Belgian admitted she would probably miss the day-to-day activities involved with the sport. "It was only till I actually started preparing again, and that was kind of like, 'This is fun. It's good to play.' My body felt good after being rested for two years," she said.

"But I didn't really miss it at all for two years. I was so into the lifestyle that I had at home. Obviously, I helped prepare for the wedding and then we had Jada (her daughter). My mind was kind of always busy, which is something that I'm going to have to do when I retire now.

"I'm not the type of person that just likes to hang around and see how the day goes. I like to be active, and I want to try to have a positive influence on tennis, whether it's in Belgium or help kids in any way possible.

"You know, I think that's kind of where my next role in life is. So, you know, I'll always kind of stay busy, whether it is full time in tennis and obviously at home as well."

The iconic pictures of Jada, as an 18-month-old, posing for pictures and playing with her mother at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, after Clijsters won the U.S. Open in 2009 are still in memory. Asked if her daughter had become more aware of what her mother does, Clijsters said: "No, not at all. My dad obviously wasn't in the situation that I'm in, but still, in Belgium we were always kind of in the spotlight a little bit. If we went out the dinner, the four of us, there were always people kind of looking and staring.

"I think in a way she thinks, like kids in her class, their parents go to work, and that's how they think. That's how she thinks. That my job is to play tennis.

"She doesn't know the impact I guess of the whole lifestyle that we have because like I said, she was 18 (months) when we started travelling. She talks about New York like we're at home. She's like, 'Mom, remember when we saw the kangaroos in Melbourne?' It's great to hear a four year old talk like that, remembering things.

"Then again, I also look forward to kind of giving her the normal kind of routine lifestyle without hopping on the plane every few months. Of course, I've been in a way lucky and unlucky, because with the injuries she's been able to be kind of home a lot and have her normal kind of school routine and normal life at home."