Victoria Azarenka beats Caroline Wozniacki in Melbourne

The Belarus star beat eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki - like Azarenka, a former world number one - 6-4 6-2 on the Margaret Court Arena.

Azarenka won the tournament in 2012 and 2013, but missed five months of last season with a foot injury.

That absence saw her drop to 44th in the world, her lowest ranking in over seven years, and meant she was unseeded for the tournament in Melbourne.

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But she showed that she is fully fit and that her skills are undiminished as she beat in-form Wozniacki in just over an hour and a half, earning a match against 25th seed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova for a place in the last 16.

"I think sometimes it doesn't really matter on what stage you play,” Azarenka said of playing Wozniacki so early on.

"It's probably tougher in the beginning of the tournament. But for me I knew that I'm unseeded so I can play anybody. I just accept whoever is on the opposite side.

"She had such an incredible end of last season so I knew I had to step up my game and really take my chances today – I think I did that pretty well.”

“It's just fun, really fun,” added Azarenka.

“Because I really enjoy playing. You know, sometimes there's pressure, tough moments. But just to be able to go through all those emotions once again, it's really fun, you know.

"For me, I enjoy it so much. I can't wait to just keep working and keep playing, having more matches, more tournaments. Yeah, it's the beginning of the year, so I'm looking forward to it."

Azarenka broke her Danish opponent in the opening game of the match, but Wozniacki broke back as the scores reached 4-4.

And while Wozniacki had saved a string of break points, Azarenka finally found a way through as she broke once more.

The second set was more one-sided, with the 25-year-old growing in confidence against an opponent who has never won a Grand Slam title - with Wozniacki not earning a single break point in the second set to end her campaign at the second hurdle.

"Obviously she feels great here," Wozniacki told reporters of two-time champion Azarenka.

"I think it's a curse I've gotten here. I've made semis, then quarters (2012), then fourth round (2013), then third round (2014), this year second round.

"It's kind of gone that way the last few years. Hopefully I'm going to break that next year and start going the other way.

"I love this tournament and I'm so sad to be out already. Obviously it was a tough draw for both of us. But, you know, she came out on top and played better."

Wozniacki had worked hard to break back into the top 10 last year, reaching the final at the US Open and raising hopes she might be able to compete with the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova after a couple of years in the wilderness.

Instead, Australia gave her a crushing reality check and produced a familiar complaint that she had let herself be dominated by a hard-hitting opponent.

"In general, I think I did okay. But at the same time I felt like I let her dictate a little bit too much," she said.

"She played cross-court, I played cross-court back. I let her dictate. I should have opened it up a little bit earlier and just tried to make her play my game.

"A loss is a loss. All losses suck. It doesn't feel fun to be here right now.

"I would rather completely suck and play terrible and win than play wonderfully and lose. I'm a competitor. It hurts to lose."

"But it definitely feels much harder to lose this early as well."

Azarenka advances to play Czech 26th seed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the next round.