Victoria Azarenka thanks fans for support

Victoria Azarenka has thanked her fans for their support following her exit from this year's Australian Open.

The Belarusian struggled with injury in 2014, leaving her unseeded for this year's first Grand Slam, which saw her exit in a defeat to last year's runner up, Dominika Cibulkova.

The two-time champion posted on Twitter: "Thank you everybody for your support today and always. Congratulations to Dominika for an amazing match today. Good luck to everyone. Hope the tournament will continue to be as exciting and entertaining.

"I'm happy I'm progressing step by step. But I'm looking forward to keep working hard and improve. I appreciate every single person who make this wonderful tournament happen and all you fans who keep us motivates to fight an inspire to bring the best out of each other.

"The beginning of the year is [looking] promising, I'm eager to be back and play more tournament and matches. Compete and build! Thank you again."

The former world number one's fitness problems have dropped her to 44th in the world rankings.