Australian Open: Defending champion Victoria Azarenka joins Caroline Wozniacki in reaching the second round
Azarenka defeated Johanna Larsson 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 while Wozniacji breezed past Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-0 6-2
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Your support makes all the difference.Defending champion Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki reached the second round of the Australian Open in contrasting styles on a baking hot day in Melbourne.
Temperatures soared above 40C but that was still not enough for the tournament to implement the extreme heat policy, which would see play suspended on open courts and the roof shut on Rod Laver and Hisense Arena.
Whether the policy is used is a decision made by tournament referee Wayne McKewen, and a combination of heat and humidity is taken into account.
Second seed Azarenka, who has won the title for the last two years, spent an hour and 46 minutes on court in defeating Swede Johanna Larsson 7-6 (7/2) 6-2.
Larsson twice served for the first set only for Azarenka to break back and then win the tie-break convincingly.
The Belarusian described the conditions as "like dancing in a frying pan", but said: "It wasn't too bad. I went to practise after so I'm okay.
"It's not easy those conditions but it's the same for everybody. You just have to adapt to it and try to do the best things to prepare. Actually I felt better as the match was going on than in the beginning."
Azarenka, who meets Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the next round, was not concerned by her first-set struggles.
She said: "She played really well. I can't say that I was surprised by that. She really went for her shots. The ball bounced a lot higher, which suited her. It took me a little bit of time to find my range."
Tenth seed Wozniacki, meanwhile, dropped only two games in defeating Spain's Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-0 6-2.
She said of the conditions: "It was a little warm out there today. I put a (drink) bottle down on the court and it started melting a little bit underneath. It was great that I managed to finish it off in two sets and it wasn't too long."
Wozniacki is playing in her first grand slam since becoming engaged to golfer Rory McIlroy but insists she is as hungry as ever to try to be a grand slam force once more.
The 23-year-old has not reached the quarter-finals at one of the sport's four biggest tournaments for two years.
She said: "I think I'm in a very good place in my life right now, on the court and off the court. I know what I want. I want to improve all the time. I want to be the best."
There was a scare for eighth seed Jelena Jankovic when she fell during her match against Japan's Misaki Doi and needed treatment to her ankle, but she recovered to win 6-1 6-2.
Eleventh seed Simona Halep, who won more titles than any other woman except Serena Williams last season, was an even more emphatic winner, the Romanian defeating qualifier Katarzyna Piter 6-0 6-1.
PA
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