Li starts Shenzhen Open with easy victory

Li Na. AP FILE PHOTO/BEC TERO

SHENZEN, China—Top-seeded Li Na opened her Shenzhen Open campaign with a clinical 6-4, 6-0 victory over Mandy Minella of Luxembourg on Tuesday.

Li, ranked No. 7 in the world, will take on Julia Cohen of the United States in the second round.

Eighth-seeded Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia could await Li in the quarterfinals after beating Ying-Ying Duan of China 6-3, 6-1 in the second round.

In other second-round matches, fifth-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic beat Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3, Monica Niculescu of Romania beat seventh-seeded Laura Robson of Britain 6-2, 6-3, and sixth-seeded Shuai Peng of China swept past Ayumi Morita of Japan for a seventh straight time, 6-1, 6-1.