Li beats Pierce to enter US Open Quatrfinal
Sep 4th, 2006

Li Na became the first Chinese woman to reach the U.S. Open last 16 with a stunning 4-6 6-0 6-0 victory over 2005 runner-up Mary Pierce on Sunday. The Chinese No.1 has been blazing trails all season long, rewriting national records by cracking the Top 30 during the grass court season, then subsequently cracking the Top 20 during the summer hardcourt season, and at Wimbledon becoming the first Chinese player in Sony Ericsson WTA Tour history to reach a major singles quarterfinal.

Pierce looked on course for victory when she took the first set but 24th seed Li won 12 games in a row to set up a possible showdown with third seed Maria Sharapova. Li struggled to cope with Pierce's power early on but grew in confidence as the match progressed and clinched victory with her 51st winner, ripping a forehand past the stranded Pierce.