Li Na breezes past Casey Dellacqua in the second round – US Open 2012
Chinese number one, Na Li, battled past the Aussie starlet, Casey Dellacqua, in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, in the round two of the US Open at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Wednesday.
Li made her classic comeback to form after the Western and Southern Open held in Cincinnati. She kept her strong focus throughout the encounter and successfully overpowered the Aussie at this Grand Slam. Both the contestants
have competed against each other twice in the past and the Chinese contender marked her 3-0 lead in the head-to-head series now. Previously, Li won at the International Women’s Open in Eastbourne this year, settling the scores in straight set, 6-2, 6-4 against
the Aussie.
The 30-year-old Chinese made a smooth entry in the initial set of the Wednesday’s encounter without facing any hindrance. Dellacqua tried her best to counter the might of her rival but all her efforts ended in vain. The Chinese
participant nudged forward in the second last game and marked the set with her 6-4 lead.
The 27-year-old had a reasonable first serve percentage of 72, converting 13 of 18 first serve points. Unfortunately, she could not capitalize a single break point. On the contrary, the Chinese veteran secured the single
serve break offered to her. However, she had a lower first serve percentage of 68 converting 17 of 21 points in the opening set.
In the following set, the Aussie professional gradually picked up some momentum and tactfully grabbed the opportunity to top the scores to 4-love. However, Li had a sloppy start in the set but she confidently squared the
scores in the middle of the set to 4-all. She carried her lost pulse and captured the last two games in the concluding it with a 6-4 score line.
The ninth seeded Li had a consistent first serve percentage of 73, pocketing 32 of 44 points on it and converting all the three serve breaks she received. The Aussie had a decent first serve percentage of 48 and this time
she luckily managed to nail two out of seven break points in the decider.
Li will now contest against the British contender, Laura Robson, in the third round of the Grand Slam event. She previously rallied past the Belgian veteran, Kim Clijsters, in the second round.
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