Azarenka starts strong in Austrian win

LINZ, Austria, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka won her first eight games and cruised to a first-round win Wednesday at the Generali Ladies Linz tennis tournament in Austria.

Azarenka came away a 6-0, 6-2 winner over Arantxa Rus after winning nearly three-quarters of the points in the first set. Azarenka allowed Rus to win just two points on serve in the opening set and 10 more in the second.

Second-seeded Ana Ivanovic topped Monica Niculescu 7-5, 6-3 with four breaks. Ivanovic did lose her serve twice but still won 75 percent of the points when serving.

Also in the first round, wild-card entrant Patricia Mayr-Achleitner romped past No. 8-seeded Sabine Lisicki 6-1, 6-3.

The second round began with fifth-seeded Julie Goerges beating Romina Oprandi 6-3, 6-3 and Sofia Arvidsson getting past Lucie Hradecka 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Goerges and Arvidsson will meet in the quarterfinals.