Victoria Azarenka overcomes scare

World number one Victoria Azarenka survived a major scare on the way to beating veteran Italian Alberta Brianti 6-7 6-4 6-2 in the French Open. The top seed, who has swept all before her this year, was broken twice in the second set as Brianti led 4-0 and close to a sensational win in their first round match. But somehow the Belarusian clawed her way back, cutting down on the errors that had strewn her game, to win six games in succession as the world number 105 capitulated with victory in her grasp. Azarenka, who hit an almost unbelievable 60 unforced errors, won 12 of the last 14 games to go through in two hours and 16 minutes. Brianti, at 32 some 10 years Azarenka's senior, was soon into her stride, serving notice of her threat with a superb backhand volley to break back for 2-2. The Italian took the next two games as mistakes began to affect Azarenka, but the top seed broke back as Brianti served for the set at 5-3. Both held the rest of the way to force the tie-break that Brianti won as Azarenka fired long. Her tail up, Brianti raced to the first four games of the second set and was a point away from making it 5-0, but Azarenka stopped the rot by winning a game that could have gone either way. It had taken Azarenka 26 minutes to win her first game of the second set, yet just 14 minutes later she had five on the board and her opponent was serving to stay in the set. By now the tide had fully turned, and Azarenka - despite seeing her unforced error count tick past 50 - had no trouble in making it six games in a row with another break. Brianti halted her wobble with a break in the opening game of the decider, but Azarenka hit back in the next. The two traded service games before Azarenka killed off the Italian with a break to love for 4-2, and two games later another perfect break of serve - her ninth of the match - sealed an unexpectedly taxing victory. "I think that says it all," the two-time French Open quarter-finalist said after being told her error count. "Bad days happen. Unfortunately today I had way more mistakes than I usually do but it happens sometimes. "You can sit and look for excuses, what happened or whatever. I just try to not approach it that way. Just try to think what can I do better next time. "Tomorrow is the day that I have to work. It's a new opportunity. That's it."