Li, Azarenka make early running at Australian Open

China's French Open champion Li Na negotiated a tough first match at the Australian Open Monday while third seed Victoria Azarenka laid down an early marker at the year's first grand slam.

In stifling heat Li, last year's runner-up, recovered from a slow start to down Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-1, after Azarenka had shown her intent with a 6-1, 6-0 demolition of Britain's Heather Watson.

Pervak, the world number 40, matched fifth-seeded Li for much of the first set as the two players traded a series of booming groundstrokes.

However the Chinese star always looked the more threatening and once she broke Pervak to open a 4-2 lead she never looked like losing.

"It's not easy (playing in that heat)," she said. "I'm not used to it. I came down from Sydney, but there it was only like 20 degrees.

"It was really tough today."

Azarenka dominated Watson in the first match on centre court as she pressed her claims for a maiden grand slam win.

Azarenka, who won last week's Sydney International and is unbeaten in 2012, needed just 67 minutes to overwhelm Watson and move into a second round clash against Australia's Casey Dellacqua.

The world number three was far too powerful for Watson, blasting 15 clean winners and forcing 14 errors from the Englishwoman's racquet.

"I think it was a good performance," Azarenka said. "There are a few things for me that I have to work on tomorrow to be better in my second round, but you know, I take what I get. I cannot complain."

Azarenka is one of six players in the draw who could finish the tournament with the number one ranking, and she acknowledged it was time she stood up and won a major tournament.

"These are always the goals for me. I'm such a competitor that I always put challenges on myself on the court, off the court, and I try to reach them," she said.

"I always go step by step. I cannot jump ahead. I think now is a good opportunity, I feel good playing."

Eighth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who also has a chance of becoming number one, came back from a set down to beat colourful American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-7 (10/12), 6-4, 6-2.

In a match lasting three hours exactly, the 21-year-old Pole lost the first set despite leading 6-1 in the tiebreak, but eventually ground down her opponent and now faces Argentinian qualifier Paula Ormaechea.

The highest profile casualty on day one was 19th seed Flavia Pennetta, who fell to Russian qualifier Nina Bratchikova 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.

Pennetta injured her back in the season-opening tournament in Auckland and subsequently withdrew from Sydney last week. She battled hard throughout but eventually succumbed in one and a half hours.

Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, the 20th seed, came from a set down in her match to defeat US qualifier Varvara Lepchenko 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours, 19 minutes.

Meanwhile Greece's Eleni Daniilidou ended the hopes of 41-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-3, 6-2.

The Japanese veteran became the second oldest player to contest the Australian Open women's singles in the open era, after the 44-year-old Beverley Rae in 1974, but she couldn't match her Greek opponent, who wrapped up the encounter in one hour and 24 minutes.

Date-Krumm's fellow countrywoman Ayumi Morita also bowed out in the first round, at the hands of Petra Cetkovska, the Czech 32nd seed winning 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Other seeds to win were Germany's Julie Goerges (22), who beat Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) and Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues (26), who progressed with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over Czech Eva Birnerova.