Li storms through as Peng crashes
China's grand slam champion Li Na stormed into the Australian Open's third round Wednesday but compatriot Peng Shuai fell by the wayside.
China's grand slam champion Li Na stormed into the Australian Open's third round Wednesday but compatriot Peng Shuai fell by the wayside.
Fifth seed Li was broken in the first set but proved too strong for Australian wildcard Olivia Rogowska, winning 6-2, 6-2 on the centre court, supported by cheering Chinese fans.
Li reached the Melbourne final last year en route to becoming Asia's first grand slam winner at the French Open, a result which catapulted her to super-stardom in China.
However Peng, the 16th seed, became a second-round casualty when she was upset in straight sets by Iveta Benesova, the world number 46 from the Czech Republic.
Peng reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2011, pushing her to a career-high year-end ranking of 17. But she came off second-best in her tussle with Benesova, who won 6-2, 6-4.
Li will face Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues in the third round while China's Zheng Jie plays her second match, against Italian Roberta Vinci, on Thursday.