Victoria Azarenka begins season by beating Serena Williams

The world's top two female players got their respective seasons underway in Thailand on Saturday as Victoria Azarenka defeated Serena Williams in straight sets.

Belarusian Azarenka upset the world rankings to beat the American 7-5 6-3 in an exhibition match at the Hua Hin World Invitational.

"It's a great warmup before going to compete and start the year," Azarenka told reporters. "It's always really fun because we take each other to the limit."

The duo now head to Brisbane for the opening WTA tournament of the season. They both have first-round byes and will meet in the final if results go with the seeding.