Hobart, 11 January 2011 | AAP

French top seed Marion Bartoli thrashed former world No.1 Dinara Safina 6-0 6-1 in the first round of the WTA’s Hobart International on Monday night.

Bartoli was ruthless as she ruined the 24-year-old Russian’s lead-up to the Australian Open after she was knocked out of the Auckland event last week by Belgian Yanina Wickmayer.

Bartoli, who reached the semi-finals of the Brisbane International last week, said the scoreline didn’t reflect the balance of the game.

“It’s not like she played badly,” she told reporters.

“Some games were really tight and went my way but the scoreline could have been much tighter … I thought it was really a top 15 match, and it wasn’t only my level, she was playing really well.”

Safina showed signs of frustration throughout and refused to speak to waiting media after the loss.

Bartoli, on the other hand, said she was thrilled to be on top of her game so early in the year.

“It’s my first time in Tasmania, I didn’t have time to acclimatise… it’s my first time playing in these kind of conditions,” she said.

“The most important thing was my level and I really played well.”

Bartoli has a second round clash with Russian Elena Vesnina, who defeated Spain’s Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2 6-1 earlier on Monday.

The tournament’s second seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was forced to retire from her first round tie with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands with a hip flexor injury.

Follow the Moorilla Hobart International live streaming today.