On Dec 28, World No. 1 Serena Williams will play head-to-head against World No 2 Victoria Azarenka in an exhibition match in Thailand.

The Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand made the announcement as early as November. The exhibition match between the top 2 tennis players will be part of the usual invitational event in the city of Hua Hin, which is a famous holiday getaway just southwest of Bangkok. Instead of usually playing in the tennis court, they will compete against each other in the sand. This is the final event of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Beach Tennis Tour, an event which also promotes the sports of tennis.

In 2013, Williams and Azarenka have faced each four times. The two met in the finals of Qatar Total Open, where Azarenka defeated Williams for the first time in 2009. Then the two faced each other again during the Italian Open, where Williams prevailed. They met for the third time and the fourth time in 2013, during the Cincinnati Open and the U.S. Open, respectively. Williams won in the Italian Open as well as the U.S. Open, while Azarenka triumphed in the Qatar Open and in the Cincinnati Open.

Williams currently hold a strong 13 wins - 3 losses lead over Azarenka, but the recent matches between the two have been fervently disputed. The 24-year-old Azarenka is out to prove that she can really be a threat to the best female tennis athlete in the world.

Williams and Azarenka also met in the 2013 BNP Paribas Showdown, a one-night tennis showdown held in New York City at the Madison Square Garden, which also featured Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro. It was a fun tennis showdown. There was one point during the game where the Russian tennis athlete handed her racquet to singer-boyfriend LMFAO's Redfoo, just to ease up the tension between her and Williams, as well as to delight the crowd watching the match.

Check out Serena and Victoria during their 2013 BNP Paribas Showdown.

 Video courtesy: YouTube/Hinchada Delpo

After the exhibition match in Thailand, Williams and Azarenka are expected to head towards Australia to start their season at the Brisbane International.

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