HYDERABAD, India -- Top-seeded Chinese player Li Na breezed into the quarterfinals of the WTA Tour's Hyderabad Open tennis tournament Tuesday, but former world No. 4 Jelena Dokic of Serbia-Montenegro fell at the first hurdle.
Li brushed aside Switzerland's Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian 6-3, 6-3 in their first-round encounter, while Dokic was beaten 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 by Mara Santangelo of Italy.
Li, 22, the first Chinese woman to win a WTA Tour title four months ago, faced little difficulty against Mikaelian, placed 61 spots below Li's 56th ranking.
"It's a good feeling to get my strokes right from the beginning," said Li, who banked on her powerful double-fisted backhand strokes to clinch the match in 55 minutes.
Seeking to make a mark on her return from a thigh injury, Dokic struggled against Santangelo, who fired 15 aces in the 70-minute contest.
Dokic traded early breaks to stay level until 5-5 in the opening set but faltered after netting an easy forehand to lose another service point.
Santangelo, 23, proved a strong opponent for Dokic by following up powerful serves with smashing forehand strokes.
Eighth-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia crushed Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus 6-3, 6-1, while qualifier Jarmila Gajdosova of Slovakia posted a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Li Ting of China.
