China's Li Na has reached her career-first Tier I quarterfinal
with a 6-1 6-0 win over Catalina Castano from Colombia at the
German Open.
The third round match cost the Chinese only 51 minutes.
She will meet number four seed Patty Schnyder, who defeated Anna
Smashnova, 6-3 6-3.
Compatriot Zheng Jie was not so lucky as she fell victim to
second seeded Nadia Petrova.
Zheng Jie was leading the first set 5-3 when the Russian trailed
the deficit as well as a set point in the tie-break to take away
the set 7-6(3).
Zheng fought hard to win back the second set 6-4, but then lost
the final decisive set in the same score: 6-4.
In other matches, former world number one Martina Hinggis
continued her comfortable journey in Berlin, beating number 5 seed
Elena Dementieva.
The unseeded Swiss displayed glimpses of the form that once
helped her dominate the tennis world during the 6-3 6-2 rout of
Dementieva.
The win has snapped Hinggis' three-match losing streak to the
Russian, including a 6-2 6-0 steamrolling in the final of Tokyo in
February.
Also reaching the last eight were Amélie Mauresmo and Justine
Henin-Hardenne, both had dismissed promising Russian teenage
rivals.
Rounding up the quarterfinal line-up are two more Russians: No.6
seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and No.10 seed Dinara Safina, who reached
her third Tier I quarterfinal of the season.
(CRI May 12, 2006)