MELBOURNE, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Aryna Sabalenka began her campaign for a third consecutive Australian Open title with a straight sets victory on center court on Sunday night.

Sabalenka beat the U.S. player Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 11 minutes at Rod Laver Arena to advance to the second round in Melbourne.

The Belarusian world number one is aiming to become the first woman to win three consecutive Australian Open singles titles since Martina Hingis in the 1990s.

Her win against Stephens marked Sabalenka's eighth consecutive win in straight sets at the Australian Open.

"I'm super happy to be back, I love this place," Sabalenka said on court after the match. "It was a tough match and I'm not like I played my best, but I'm glad I was able to close this match in straight sets."

Sabalenka raced into a 4-0 lead in the opening set but faced a challenge when Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, broke her serve twice to bring it back to 4-3.

Stephens had chances in the following game to level the score but could not hold serve, allowing Sabalenka to close out the opener.

None of the first three games went to serve in the second set until Sabalenka held for a 3-1 before going up a level to finish off the match.

Sabalenka will play world number 54 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain in the second round. Enditem

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