Australian Open 2012: Victoria Azarenka's Hot Start Is Preview of Things to Come

The 2012 Australian Open is less than 24 hours old, and a strong contender has already emerged on the women’s side.

Victoria Azarenka’s 6-1, 6-0 straight set victory over Heather Watson was a thing of beauty.

In only an hour and seven minutes, Azarenka won 12 straight games to end the match as she looked to be just warming up. It was a strong statement to the rest of the field.

Coming off an impressive win at the Sydney International, nobody is currently hotter on the women’s side of the bracket.

Another major factor playing in Azarenka’s favor is health.

After a rocky 2011 that saw her retire in four matches, she is 100 percent now. That’s a far cry from Serena Williams, who is dealing with an ankle injury that has hampered her ability to train for the Aussie Open. It’s hard to imagine that her conditioning would be up to par after barely picking up a tennis racket for the last three months.

Another injury-prone contender is Kim Clijsters.

The one-time great hasn’t been able to shake various alignments and enters 2012 knowing it will likely be her last as a professional. With her nagging ankle injury sure to flare up, it’s doubtful it will hold up for two weeks of incredibly grueling action.

Azarenka's main competition is going to be the No.1 ranked Caroline Wozniacki. The 21-year-old finally won her first major at Wimbledon and mentally seems to be making large strides. Yet she has always seemed to struggle down under and is just as likely to get upset in the third round as she is to win the Grand Slam.

I know it’s early at Melbourne Park, but dominating in such a fast fashion is a big deal for the first major tournament of the season. Some players are still shaking off their holiday weight while others are trying to regain their stroke after taking off an extended amount of time.

With a robust serve and tremendous return game on top of a clean bill of health, it’s hard not to like Azarenka going extremely far in the next two weeks.