Victoria Azarenka has claimed that she is playing better at this year's Australian Open than she did when she won the Grand Slam in 2013.

The Belarusian beat Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova 6-4 6-4 on Saturday to reach the fourth round in Melbourne, where she also won her first major three years ago.

"I would never want to compare [myself now to how I played when I won here] because I think the game itself progressed a lot and I do feel I played better than I was playing two years ago," she told the tournament's official website.

"[I'm working on] being more consistent, being more aggressive, really taking more my chances... so this always can get better. I mean, all aspects of the game I feel I need to get sharper still; match play, endurance."

The former world number one, who is unseeded following an injury-prone year, next faces 2014 runner-up Dominika Cibulkova.