Beijing, Oct 2 (IANS) China’s World No.8 Li Na got her revenge over Russian Nadia Petrova when she defeated her nemesis for the first time in seven meetings at China Open second round here Tuesday.
It was also the first match of the rivalry in four years as Petrova’s last win over Li was at the Stuttgart Open in 2008.
The match was expected to be gruelling as Petrova, who is currently World No.14, has just won the Pan Pacific Open title in Tokyo — but Li was hardly tested by her opponent en route to the 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Li was just having trouble in the sixth game of the second set where she lost her serve for the only time in the match. But the 30-year-old broke back immediately in the next game and then served for the victory.
Li, the first Asian to win a Grand Slam title, will take on compatriot Peng Shuai in the third round.
Li is making her eighth appearance at Beijing, with the best result reaching the semifinals in 2010.
