China's Li Na makes history in Paris

Sixth seed Li Na became the first Chinese player to reach the French Open quarter-finals yesterday with a disjointed 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 defeat of 21-year-old Czech ninth seed Petra Kvitova.

Li made 19 unforced errors to her opponent's 33 in the match on Court Philippe Chatrier but said her lack of claycourt pedigree should not prevent her from aiming high.

Li, who became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final at the Australian Open earlier this year, will play fourth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus who beat Russia's Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-3.

Both Azarenka and Li are bidding to reach the semi-finals for the first time.