Li Na crushes Iveta Benesova to reach round three – Internazionali BNL D’Italia 2012
Roland Garros titlist, Li Na of China, breezed past the Czech veteran, Iveta Benesova, with a breadstick at the Internazionali BNL D’Italia 2012, a WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Five event taking place from 12th – 20th May
in Rome, Italy. She nudged up a 6-1, 7-5 success against the Czech to power into the third round on Wednesday.
The Chinese number one displayed top notch performance to outsmart Benesova for the sixth straight time. Li last overpowered the Czech at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami earlier this circuit and after earning this limelight in one hour and 21 minutes, the
30-year-old assertively advanced into the pre-quarter at Foro Italico.
Li high-spiritedly stepped on the Italian red clay courts and kept her opening serve to take the initial lead. After Benesova held her serve in the second game, the Chinese unveiled her true colours and went on a five-game tear. Li brushed off both breakpoints
she came across and cashed in both break chances to pocket the opener with a breadstick.
Ranked ninth in the WTA Premier Rankings, Li kept momentum sailing into the proceeding set and earned the coveted break in the third game to leap to a 3-1 lead. However, she stepped off gas after that and gifted away her serve twice to fall at 3-5. The Chinese
re-focused after that and reeled off the last four games successively, eventually sealing the set with a 7-5 win.
All in all, Li formulated a better first serve share of 75 per cent as compared to her rival’s 61 per cent and impressively penned down 34 out of 49 points on it. She amazingly warded off seven out of nine breakpoints she faced and cashed in all five break
chances to earn the spotlight.
Li will next confront the South African number one, Chanelle Scheepers, who hit back from a set down to outrun New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic in a three-set nail-biter. The South African lost her serve three times but capitalised on six out of 12 break opportunities
to manipulate a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 score line in two hours and 17 minutes.
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