French Open champion Li Na of China rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the opening set to beat Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in the second round of the New Haven Open.
Li trailed 3-1 in the first set and 4-1 in the second before clinching a berth in the quarterfinals of the final tournament before the start of the US Open in five days.

Li has now beaten Kirilenko in four out of five meetings but she says it doesn’t get any easier.

“Everyone thinks different,” says Li, the first Asian to win a Grand Slam. “Before (it was), ‘Oh, OK, I beat her.’ But now, if they win, ‘Oh, I beat a French Open champion.’ They are even more excited.”

Li broke Kirilenko in the seventh game of both the first and second set after falling behind in each.

She next faces Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat Roberta Vinci of Italy, 6-2, 6-4.

Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues also moved into the quarterfinals, overcoming a knee injury to beat Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-2, 7-6 (5).

She will have the knee examined before her next match against Italy’s Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals.

Marion Bartoli of France also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 win over Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.

Bartoli will next face Czech qualifier Petra Cetkovska in the quarterfinals.                                                                             

AFP