Off-key Li glad to see off young Swiss

Melbourne: Chinese fourth seed Li Na admitted she was not at the top of her game Wednesday after being forced to dig deep against teen qualifier Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open.

With the temperature hitting 38 Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) before the pair even stepped on court at 11:00 am, Li was keen to get back in the air conditioning quickly but the promising Swiss kept her in the boiling sun for 80 minutes. While the first set was a breeze, the second was a serious workout for the Chinese star who has made the final at Melbourne Park twice before, including last year when she lost to Victoria Azarenka. She eventually prevailed 6-0, 7-6 (7/5) to set up a third-round clash against 26th seeded Czech Lucie Safarova. "Every day is different, I cannot say I played 100 percent," Li said. "Of course I cannot play 100 percent every day, but (I played) at least 60, 65 percent. "It was a little bit warm out there," she added. "I am pretty happy. At least I won the match and am still in the tournament." Li, 31, is one of the oldest women in the draw and she had already handed out a lesson to the youngest player during the first round when she hammered Ana Konjuh, 16. Bencic, the second youngest by a matter of months, received similar treatment in the first set from a player almost double her age, on another day of furnace-like conditions on Rod Laver Arena. The experienced Li, with her right knee taped, was taken to deuce in her opening service game as she set about finding her range before holding for 1-0. Li was soon looking good and she blasted a forehand down the line to break, and then comfortably held as she raced to a 3-0 lead with Bencic struggling to stay in touch. The Swiss, who beat 43-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm in the opening round, appeared overawed by the 2011 French Open champion and a crosscourt Li forehand handed her another break in the fourth. Li`s placement was inch-perfect and there was little Bencic could do to stop the Chinese star wrapping up the set to love in just 22 minutes. The teenager had managed just one winner in six games. But Bencic, who has been dubbed the new Martina Hingis and is occasionally coached by the Swiss great`s mother, Melanie Molitor, finally got off the mark on her service game in the second set. It drew huge cheers from the crowd and brought a big smile from the 16-year-old, who rose in confidence as she broke Li to be 2-1 ahead. Li immediately broke back but the plucky Swiss showed why she won the Wimbledon and French Open junior titles last year and was named the ITF Junior World Champion in 2013. She broke Li again and should have held her next serve, but a forehand into the net saw the set locked at 4-4. It went with serve to a tense tiebreak with Li drawing on her experience to survive. She then paid tribute to Bencic, tipping her for greater things. "She won the juniors, so she has experience, she`s used to playing the big court," said Li. "If she plays more tournaments on the tour, for sure she will be very good."