Azarenka, Serena Williams Reach Olympic Second Round

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus made her Olympic debut today with a victory over Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.  Azarenka raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set before the Romanian was finally able to get on the scoreboard.  It was too little too late though, with the Belarusian wrapping up the first set in just 24 minutes.The second set was a more tightly contested affair, as Azarenka’s serve began to break down.  En route to her win, the reigning Australian Open champion hit an alarming 13 double faults.  This allows Begu to gain ground in the second set and break her opponent three times for the 6-3 win.  By the time the third set came around, the Belarusian had gotten control of her serve and following an initial hold by Begu, Azarenka stormed to a 6-1 finish.  She won the match 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 and will take on Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.American Serena Williams was also in action today. She easily defeated rival Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in straight sets.  Both former world no 1s, Serena slammed 8 aces to score a 6-3, 6-1 victory over her opponent in just over 1 hour.  In the second round, the American will play Urszula Radwanska of Poland.  Radwanska’s sister and world no. 2 Agnieszka was upset in her opening Olympic match.