China's star scores second top-20 win in Gold Coast
Updated: 2008-01-04 09:16
GOLD COAST, Australia - China's Li Na made it two-for-two in career matches against Nicole Vaidisova, beating the top-seeded Czech player 6-3, 6-3 yesterday in an Australian women's hardcourt quarterfinal.
 Li Na of China plays a forehand return during her match against Nicole Vaidisova of Czechoslovakia at the Australian women's hardcourt tennis championships on the Gold Coast, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008. Li won the match 6-3, 6-3. [Agencies] |
Li beat Vaidisova in three sets in the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2006 in their only previous meeting.
Vaidisova was troubled by an ankle injury yesterday, but refused to use that as an excuse for losing.
She needed a medical timeout after feeling pain in her left ankle when trailing 5-3 in the first set. Li was dominating the match up to that point.
"I don't think it's going to be something huge, but it just distracts you," said Vaidisova.
"She played a great game and she was up before that happened so it's definitely not my excuse for losing today."
Amelie Mauresmo was to play Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in a night quarterfinal, with the winner to play Li in the semis on Friday.
In another quarterfinal, Shahar Peer of Israel beat defending champion Dinara Safina of Russia 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8) in a two-and-a-half-hour match. Peer lost to Safina in the semifinal last year at Royal Pines, when she led 6-4, 5-1 before fading badly following a rain delay.
"It's been a year since I played her," said Peer, who saved seven of 10 break points on the way to beating Safina for the first time in four attempts. "You can call it revenge, but not really."
The 20-year-old Peer will meet Victoria Azarenka in Friday's semifinal. Azarenka, of Belarus, defeated Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Safina, sister of former men's No 1 Marat Safin, said she needed to change her mind-set to break into the top 10.
"It's disappointing because in the first set I was 4-1 up and somehow I let her come back into the match because I was dominating from the beginning," said Safina, who has won five WTA titles.
"Then I started to slow down my game instead of worrying about my shots. Second set I wasn't there".
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