Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka and No. 2 Maria Sharapova both advanced to the second round of the China Open on Monday.
Azarenka easily beat Alize Cornet of France 6-1, 6-0, while Sharapova had a harder time knocking off Simona Halep of Romania 7-5, 7-5.
Azarenka is hoping to rebound from last week in Tokyo where she withdrew from the tournament in the third round after a bout of dizziness.
