China's Li Na has a habit of buying gifts for herself as rewards for good performances in Grand Slams - she bought an expensive handbag after reaching the third round at Wimbledon two months ago.

At the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the season, Li is almost certain to overspend as the 27-year-old from Wuhan produced her best tennis of the year to reach the quarterfinals of the event for the first time with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Italy's Francesca Schiavone on Sunday.

It is Li's second quarterfinal appearance in a Grand Slam tournament, following her 2006 Wimbledon run. Sunday's victory sets up a last eight clash with Kim Clijsters, the 2005 champion here who is on the comeback trail after spending two years out of the game to marry and have a child. Clijsters defeated Venus Williams 6-0, 0-6, 6-4.