Summary 2013 was mostly a year to forget for Azarenka who won just three titles against 11 for Williams.
HUA HIN (AFP) - World number two Victoria Azarenka battled back from an injury-plagued season to defeat top-ranked Serena Williams 7-5, 6-3 in Thailand on Saturday.
The Belarusian 24-year-old is hoping her victory at the exhibition match in Thailand will set the stage for a strong performance at the upcoming Australian Open.
"It s a great warm up before going to compete and start the year," she told reporters in the seaside resort of Hua Hin. "It s always really fun because we take each other to the limit."
Asked whether the pair would meet again in the Australian Open final, she replied: "That s what we re going to really work hard for."
A jet-lagged Williams, who arrived in the kingdom a day later than Azarenka, shrugged off her defeat.
"We had a really good match. We had a lot of moving and I think it was a really good warm up for us in the future," she said, making her debut in Hua Hin.
2013 was mostly a year to forget for Azarenka who won just three titles against 11 for Williams.
Azarenka limped out of Wimbledon in the early stages with a knee injury and failed to reach the WTA Championships semi-finals in Turkey in October as she battled a lower back injury.
A month earlier she crashed out of the China Open in the first round.
In contrast Williams enjoyed a match record of 78 wins against just four defeats, claimed the season-ending WTA Championships title and became the oldest number one player.
Azarenka will start her 2014 season with a return to Brisbane where she was forced to withdraw from the semi-finals a year earlier due to a toe infection on her right foot.
