Tennis: China crisis for fifth seed Kuznetsova

China's prospects of acquitting themselves favourably during the Beijing Games in two years' time were done no harm at all yesterday by the dogged victory of their leading player, Li Na, who came from a set down to defeat the fifth seeded Russian, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Meanwhile, another Asian player was also making an impact. Japan's Ai Sugayama ended the comeback hopes of Martina Hingis, seeded 12, on Centre Court.

"She's a tough cookie, a strong survivor," said Hingis. "Today was not the right day. Her backhand down the line was deadly."

It was 1997 champion Hingis' poorest performance at a grand slam since her return after a three-year break at the start of the year. The Swiss reached the quarter-finals of both the Australian and French Opens.

China's Li may have the shortest name in the world game, but her reputation is growing rapidly.

Ranked 27th at Wimbledon - the highest seeding ever for a Chinese player - she has enhanced her standing by defeating last month's French Open finalist.

Li headed five fellow countrywomen in the main Wimbledon draw. And the 24-year-old from Wu Han, who took up tennis at eight after being poached by a coach who had spotted her playing badminton, is making the most of her first appearance on Wimbledon's grass.

Others, however, are capitalising on their experience here. As she went about her work on No. 2 Court in temperatures that soared towards 30C, Justine Henin-Hardenne - who reached her first grand slam final at Wimbledon five years ago - wore her habitual sun-visor. In mental terms, she was also wearing the thickest pair of blinkers you could ever imagine.

The woman who retained her French title a few weeks ago has now won three of the game's four grand slam titles. But repeated questions about her chances of completing the set in SW19 are receiving a response akin to a blocked volley. "I just go match after match," the 24-year-old Belgian responded when quizzed whether this year - the most wide-open women's title race for years - represents her best chance of completing the grand slam set.

"My next match is going to be my next goal, and that's it. I don't want to look too far. That's the way I have to think in the next few days," she said.

Her concentration level has been such that she has not even taken time out to watch any of her likely rivals, a fact she admitted to the assembled media with the ghost of a smile.

The Belgian conceded that being able to adjust from clay courts to grass thanks to last week's Eastbourne tournament - which she won - had made a big difference to her state of preparation as she sought to go one better than her performance here in 2001, when she lost the final to the current champion, Venus Williams.

"I didn't have a choice last year, and I wasn't in good enough shape to come here," she said.

"The situation was different this year, and that was better for me."

Conditions were certainly sufficient to test out the fitness of those on court yesterday.

At 15-love up, serving for the first set, Henin-Hardenne had to replay her point after a ball-girl crashed to the turf, overcome by the oppressive heat on the court.

There was no wavering from Henin-Hardenne, however, as she ignored the frequent eruptions of emotion from her Russian third-round opponent, the 30th-seeded Anna Chakvetadze. The 19-year-old Muscovite looked on occasions as if she was about to throw away her racket and walk off as Henin-Hardenne's steely grip began to close around her.

There was a late flourish, as the Belgian was broken while serving for the match, but the Russian then succumbed in her own service game to lose 6-2, 6-3.

- INDEPENDENT