Tennis News
Azarenka hammers Briton Watson to start Australian Open
Jan 16, 2012, 2:24 GMT
Melbourne - Third seed Victoria Azarenka notched the first victory of the 2012 Australian Open Monday with a 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of Heather Watson.
Azrenka wore shorts as heat returned to Melbourne after a week of cold, windy, rainy weather.
Last week's Sydney champion was untouchable in her runaway win over the 19-year-old Briton, ranked 106th and playing the open for the first time.
The match was over in 67 minutes. Azarenka of Belarus is to line up next against Australian wildcard Casey Dellacqua, a winner over Serb Bojana Jovanovski 6-3, 6-2.
In other results, Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues beat Czech Eva Birnerova 6-3, 6-3, and Eleni Daniilidou of Greece defeated Japan's 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-3, 6-2.
It was the fourth year in a row that the veteran has lost in the Melbourne first round since returning to tennis in 2009 after a decade away.
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