Li Na cruises past Cohen to Shenzhen quarter-finals

Chinese tennis star Li Na cruised through to the quarter-finals of the Shenzhen Open on Wednesday, with a straight sets victory over American Julia Cohen.

The last year French Open singles winner and top seed took one hour and 34 minutes to defeat Cohen 6-3, 6-4.

The Chinese number one will face eighth seed Bojana Jovanovski, from Serbia, in the next round.

Li’s compatriot Zhou Yimiao also powered through to the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 victory over Chang Kai-Chen from Taiwan.

She will face Romania’s Monica Niculescu, who disposed of British teenager Laura Robson in their second-round match on Tuesday.

The Shenzhen Open – carrying total prize money of US$500,000 – is being played for the first time as tennis expands in China on the back of Li’s huge popularity.

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