MELBOURNE, Australia — Third-seeded Victoria Azarenka won 12 straight games to finish off Heather Watson 6-1, 6-0 in 67 minutes today in the opening match on center court at the Australian Open.
Azarenka, one of six women who can finish atop the rankings depending on results at Melbourne Park, is coming off a win at the Sydney International last week.
“Well, the score is easy. To actually play the match, it’s never easy,” Azarenka said.
The Sydney champion has gone on to reach the Australian Open final six times since 1997, winning twice. Li Na won in Sydney last year but lost the Australian Open final to Kim Clijsters. Azarenka beat Li in the Sydney final Friday night and is starting to gain a following in Melbourne’s Chinese community.
“After beating Li Na, a lot of Chinese people started recognizing me,” the 22-year-old from Belarus said. “That’s a plus.”
On the men’s side, 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro dropped the first set to France’s Adrian Mannarino before advancing 2-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, and No. 30 Kevin Anderson beat Frederik Nielsen 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
