Li Na captures first grass court win at Eastbourne
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Li Na of China returns a shot during her first-round match against Tamira Paszek of Austria in 2011's AEGON International Tennis Tournament in Eastbourne, Britain, June 14, 2011. Li won 2-0. (Xinhua/Chen Hongbo) |
Li Na of China captured her first grasscourt win of the season when she beat Tamira Paszek of Austria at the Eastbourne International on Tuesday.
Ten days after the Chinese tennis star claiming her first grand slam title at Roland Garros, Li Na defeat Paszek 7-5, 6-4 in the first round at Eastbourne WTA grass court to successfully kick off her Wimbledon preparations.
The 29-year-old Li Na, second seed at the tournament, met strong challenges from qualifier Tamira Paszek.
But the French Open champion pulled out the win with her grass-court experience and aggressive play. She wasted one match point in the final game before finally clinching victory when Paszek went wide with a forehand.
Meanwhile, third-seeded Victoria Azarenka beat Peng Shuai of China 6-4, 7-6 (2), while fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova recovered from a slow start to defeat Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.
The Williams sisters also made winning returns after recovering from injuries.
