Li Na into quarter-finals of the US Open
National hero fights off attack of nerves and tiredness to reach quarter-finals of US Open and match best performance in New York
Li Na made a triumphant night-time debut at the US Open with an impressive rout of former world No 1 Jelena Jankovic to reach the quarter-finals and match her best New York result.
The Chinese fifth seed and 2011 French Open champion, needed only 57 minutes to defeat Serbian ninth seed Jankovic 6-3, 6-0 and book a last-eight date against Russian 24th seed Ekaterina Makarova, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska.
And she did it under the lights in the last match of the night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the show and entertainment aspects swirl with the tennis to produce a rare noisy environment.
"I like the first match because after the first match, you have the whole day," Li said. "Not like the night session. For the night session you have to wait the whole day and play in the night. But after winning the match I was feeling OK, just a little bit late."
Li got into the spirit of the night by putting on her own version of an off-Broadway show, refusing to let Jankovic see any sign of nervousness or weakness even though she felt both at times.
"I was a little bit show-time because I didn't want to show how nervous I was," Li said. "It's not all about technique. It's about body language. I don't want to show opponent how weak I am. I want to show how strong I am."