Azarenka says battling to be fit to face Serena in Thai exhibition match

Johannesburg – Women tennis’ world number two Victoria Azarenka has said that she is battling to get her fitness back on track after a disappointing 2013 as she prepared to face world number one Serena Williams in an exhibition match in Thailand.

The Belarussian, a two-time Australian Open champion who ended 2013 with just three titles, will start her 2014 season with a return to Brisbane where she was forced to withdraw from the semi-finals a year earlier due to a toe infection on her right foot.

According to Sport24, Azarenka, who hit the catwalk for a special fashion show in Thailand along with Williams, said that she is hoping for a victory in Thailand to bring her good luck again in Melbourne, for which she is working hard to keep up her fitness.

Azarenka has won just three of her 16 meetings against Williams, although she split their four clashes in 2013 and for a second successive season took her great rival to three sets in the US Open final, the report added.