BEIJING, Sept 21 - Chinese number one Li Na claimed a quarter-final berth at
the China Open on Thursday by beating unseeded Russian Elena Vesnina 3-6 6-1 6-1
after dropping the first set.
China's Li Na
celebrates after winning her match against Russia's Elena Vesnina at China
Open in Beijing September 21, 2006. Li won 3-6 6-1 6-1.
[Reuters] |
France's world number one Amelie
Mauresmo defeated Li's compatriot Sun Tiantian 6-3 6-2 and former number one
Lindsay Davenport beat Zheng Jie 6-2 7-6.
Despite those losses two Chinese players will feature in the last eight of
the tournament for the first time after Peng Shuai booked a quarter-final
appearance.
"In the first set (Vesnina) made me very uncomfortable with her backhands,
but the main problem was that I was in too much of a hurry," seventh seed Li
told reporters.
"In the second set I calmed down and decreased the number of unforced errors,
which was effective."
Zheng Jie, suffering from an injured ankle, lost in a tiebreak to Davenport
after trying to make the taller American run around the court.
"In the first set I thought about trying to move her around, but I made too
many unforced errors and she attacked quite powerfully," Zheng said.
"My injury affected me and I thought about withdrawing but the crowds were
cheering for me so I kept going until the end of the match."
Davenport will face Mauresmo for a place in the last four and, despite
winning the duo's last 11 encounters, she was taking nothing for granted.
"It's a little funny and weird to have beaten one player so many times in a
row. She's obviously a great player and now the number one player in the world.
I don't expect an easy game tomorrow. I will have to play better than today,"
she said.
Third seeded Russian Nadia Petrova thrashed Greek Eleni Daniilidou 6-1 6-2 to
win her first match in nearly three weeks and set up a meeting with Serbian
Jelena Jankovic, a 6-3 6-2 winner over Mauresmo's compatriot Marion Bartoli.
