Asian tennis stars Li, Nishikori make bright starts
- Published: 14 Jan 2013 at 17.45
- Online news: Asia
Former finalist Li Na and Japan's Kei Nishikori made encouraging starts on Monday as they kicked off their campaigns to become the Grand Slam tournament's first Asian winners.
China's Li Na hits a return against Kazakhstan's Sesil Karatantcheva (unseen) during their women's singles first round match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 14, 2013. Li remains the best bet for an Asian winner as she cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Karatantcheva.
Li, revitalised under coach Carlos Rodriguez, made short work of Kazak outsider Sesil Karatantcheva, while Nishikori beat Romania's Victor Hanescu to reach the second round.
This article is older than 60 days, which we reserve for our premium members only.You can subscribe to our premium member subscription, here.
