Victoria Azarenka has booked her spot in the fourth round of the Cincinnati Open following a 6-3 6-4 victory over Magdalena Rybarikova on Thursday.

The former world number one struggled in the early stages, with a hold and break for Rybarikova moving the Slovakian into a 2-0 lead.

Azarenka recovered to break back, however, before securing three consecutive breaks to eventually claim the opener 6-3.

Another seven breaks of serve occurred in the second and what proved to be final set as both players struggled to hold, but Azarenka secured the decisive break at 4-5, allowing the Belarusian to advance into round four.