Na Li vs. Samantha Stosur in Cincinnati Open

Na Li and Samantha Stosur will meet tonight for what could be a thrilling third round showdown at the Western and Southern Open

World No. 5 Na Li is in the middle of the most successful season of her career, and she’ll be hoping that she can add to her list of 2011 achievements here in Cincinnati by challenging for the Western and Southern Open title. The 29 year-old opened her campaign with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over Lucie Safarova, and she’ll be looking to continue picking up good results as the week progresses.

Her next match will be a tough third round clash against world No. 10 Samantha Stosur. Stosur hasn’t won a WTA title this season, but her recent results have been encouraging. She reached the final last week in Toronto, but was eventually beaten in straight sets by Serena Williams.

Li is seeded ahead of Stosur here, but she could be set for disappointment tonight. Stosur has won all four of her previous contests against Li, and she’s yet to lose a set against her. Li lost against Stosur last week (6-2, 6-4), and she’ll need to raise her game in order to avoid a similar result.