Li Na and Cibulkova advance into Sydney quarters

In blazing hot weather at the Apia International Sydney tournament, Na Li took to the court on Tuesday to face off against the Japanese player Ayumi Morita. Like Radwanska, Li also won her first tournament of the new season, at Shenzen, and is in good form. It took the Chinese player just 52 minutes to demolish Morita 6-1 6-0 – winning the last eight games on the trot. Li’s next opponent will be the qualifier, the American teenager Madison Keys, who took out Lucie Safarova and Jie Zheng respectively in the first two rounds.

In contrast to the one-sided Li Morita match, Dominika Cibulkova went on court against the Russian Ekaterina Makarova in a match that went to three sets. The first set went to a tie breaker which Cibulkova took 7-3, but the tiny Slovak completely lost her concentration while the Russian upped her game, to take the second set easily 6-1. The Russian continued her good play right up to a 5-3 lead in the decider, when Cibulkova suddenly rallied and drew level at 5-5. Each player then held serve to also take this set to a tie breaker, which Cibulkova won 7-1. She will next face third seed, Sara Errani, in the quarters.

Tags Ayumi Morita Dominika Cibulkova Ekaterina Makarova Li Na WTA Sydney 2013 results