|
 Li displayed some signs of rust in her first match of the
tournament after receiving an opening round bye and a walkover when
Alisa Kleybanova withdrew from their second round meeting with
illness.
She had to fight off three set points and an early break in the
second set before clinching a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over her American
opponent.
Williams, seeded 29th at the tournament she considers her home
event, battled Casey Dellacqua for almost two and a half hours
before subduing the determined Australian wild card 6-4 5-7 6-4.
Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland continued to confirm she is
over the knee problem that plagued her in the final in Indian Wells
last Sunday, registering a 7-5 6-3 victory over Russian Elena
Vesnina.
Keys, who lives in nearby Boca Raton, had her Chinese opponent on
the ropes several times but allowed the experienced Li to escape
time and time again.
"She's number two in the world for a reason. She just won the
Australian Open for a reason," said Keys. "She's a great player.
"I played well at times and she just played the bigger points
really, really well.
"There is a lot to be happy with but there is also some stuff I need
to work on."
Li got off to a strong start, grabbing the early break and a 3-1
lead, but the big hitting Keys answered with two breaks of her own,
surging in front 5-3.
Keys however could not convert any of her three set points, Li
wiggling free with a break and forcing the set to a tie-break which
she easily won 7-3.
The American again had Li under pressure in the second, grabbing the
early break to go up 2-0, but could not sustain the pressure as Li,
having now hit her stride, stormed through the next five games on
her way to victory.
"I think it was pretty tough match, she played well, big serve, big
forehand, especially when she was 3-1 down and then come back 5-3 up
and serve for the first set," said Li. "During that time I didn't
think about too much.
[to top of second column] |
"I say, OK try to hit the ball, try to do what you have to do and
save the set point. "I think this maybe changed the match a little bit because after
that I was feeling she's dropped a little bit." Williams was not at her best against Dellacqua committing 44
unforced errors and six double faults but she did not lack for fight
in the blistering mid-day sun.
"If I go down it's never easy," said Williams. "At least my opponent
knows they have to go to the end of the earth to take me out no
matter what the circumstances, usually.
"I do try and compete. I mean, being out here, even if it's not your
best day, no matter what the circumstances are."
In other third round action, Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, the 10th
seed, was a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 winner over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet.
(Editing by Gene Cherry and Greg Stutchbury)
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