Two-time Australian Open runner-up Li Na has joined the growing throng to anoint rising Swiss star Belinda Bencic as the next Martina Hingis.
Li looked set for the easiest of days when she raced through the opening set of her second-round clash at Melbourne Park on Wednesday, only for Bencic – the youngest player in the women’s draw – to dig in throughout the second set.
The Chinese world No.4 steadied for a 6-0 7-6 (7-5) victory, but was full of praise for Bencic, who at 16 is the same age that Hingis was when she won the first of her five grand slam titles at the 1997 Australian Open, becoming the youngest major winner of the 20th century in the process.
Hingis’s mother is also an occasional coach of Bencic.
“She’s pretty good,” said the 31-year-old Li.
“She played exactly like Martina Hingis.
“It’s very tough to play a decent player I’ve never seen before.
“She gave me a very tough time at the end of the second set, but I was really happy in the end that I could use my experience to win the match.”
Even though she is only two years younger than Hingis, the late-blooming Li’s only match against her was at the 2007 Australian Open, during the Swiss superstar’s moderately-successful comeback from chronic ankle injuries.
That encounter ended in a three-set win for Hingis and gave Li an obvious point of comparison for Wednesday’s clash.
“I didn’t like the way (Bencic) was hitting the ball today, because she was using a lot of my power to move me and running a lot on the court,” said Li.
Li’s third-round opponent will be Lucie Safarova, who won her all-Czech encounter with Lucie Hradecka 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-0.
World No.1 Serena Williams made short work of the challenge posed by Serbian Vesna Dolonc to advance to the third round.
The American started her 2014 Open campaign by conceding only three games to Australian Ashleigh Barty on Monday and was just as miserly in the second round as she hammered Dolonc 6-1 6-2.
The top-seeded Williams, 32, is chasing a sixth Australian Open title and a first since 2010.
“There’s always pressure because it always seems like I’m one of the favourites to win,” said Williams.
“But for me I look at it as exciting that I have an opportunity to go all the way.
“But with that being said, I have so many matches I have to win in order to do well and lift the trophy.”
Romanian Monica Niculescu equalled her best Australian Open result, moving into the third round with an upset 2-6 6-2 6-2 victory over Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki from Germany.
The erratic Lisicki made 56 unforced errors across the three-set match, compared to only 18 from Niculescu.
Thai giantkiller Luksika Kumkhum’s campaign faltered as she lost 4-6 6-3 6-4 to German Mona Barthel.
Kumkhum had beaten No.6 seed and 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic in the opening round on Monday.