(Reuters) - Twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka breezed past Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2 6-0 in the Brisbane International on Monday to set up a second-round showdown against top seed Simona Halep.
The former world number one has been plagued by injuries in the last two years which have sent her down to 22nd in the world rankings but showed little signs of rust against qualifier Vesnina.
Playing for the first time since retiring from the WTA event in Wuhan, China in September, Azarenka broke Vesnina six times to wrap up victory.
She will have a much sterner test against former French Open finalist Halep, who had a first-round bye.