Mason, Ohio : Second-seeded Victoria Azarenka held off an upset bid by qualifier Vania King to pull out a 6-1, 7-6 (6) win and advance to the third round of the Western and Southern Open on Tuesday.
Azarenka, the WTA's second-ranked player, had to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set to force the tiebreaker and win her first match since losing to Samantha Stosur in the finals of the Southern California Open two weeks ago. Azarenka suffered a lower back injury in that match that forced her to withdraw last week in Toronto.
In men's action, 10th-seeded Kei Nishikori advanced with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over Feliciano Lopez, and 11th-seeded Tommy Haas cruised into the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over 19th-ranked Kevin Anderson.
