In the opening match of day five on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Li Na recorded a victory over British No.1 Laura Robson and avenged her last year’s defeat to the Brit at the same stage of the US Open. The seed No.5 won the first set with ease in 29 minutes, 6-2. The second set was a little harder for the Chinese, but she managed to push through, 7-5. Hitting 11 aces to her opponent’s none, Li closed the match in one hour and 21 minutes. We’re waiting to see what Li will do in her next match against Serbian Jelena Jankovic, who advanced with a 6-4 7-6(5) win over world No.109 Nara Kurumi.
At the same time on Louis Armstrong Stadium there was a battle between Agnieszka Radwanska and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Pole had some anxious moments in the match, but managed to pull through, winning 6-4 7-6(1) in almost two hours. The third seed will meet Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round, who upset seed No.16 Sabine Lisicki 6-4 7-5. Makarova and Radwanska have met three times so far and Radwanska leads their head-to-head record 3-0. If the Pole succeeds in keeping the record perfect after the fourth-round match, she will be the only woman to reach the quarterfinals at all the four Grand Slams this year. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)
