HUA HIN: World number two Victoria Azarenka battled back from an injury-plagued season to defeat top-ranked Serena Williams 7-5, 6-3 in Thailand on Saturday.

The Belarusian 24-year-old is hoping her victory at the exhibition match in Thailand will set the stage for a strong performance at the upcoming Australian Open.

“It’s a great warm up before going to compete and start the year,” she told reporters in the seaside resort of Hua Hin. “It’s always really fun because we take each other to the limit.”

Asked whether the pair would meet again in the Australian Open final, she replied: “That’s what we’re going to really work hard for.”

A jet-lagged Williams, who arrived in the kingdom a day later than Azarenka, shrugged off her defeat.

“We had a really good match. We had a lot of moving and I think it was a really good warm up for us in…