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Paris - Defending champion Li Na of China reached the French Open third round on Thursday with an easy 6-0, 6-2 win over France's Stephanie Foretz Gacon.
Li, 30, the seventh seed and Asia's first and only Grand Slam singles winner, took the hometown crowd out of the match by immediately breaking Foretz Gacon in the first game with aggressive baseline play.
The second break came courtesy of a double fault by the French woman, ranked 86th in the world.
Li, who had never lost before the third round in any of her previous five appearances at the French Open, scored the third break with a backhand crosscourt winner before comfortably serving out the first set.
In the second set, the 31-year-old Foretz Gacon, making her 14th consecutive appearance at Roland Garros, avoided total humiliation by breaking Li once but the Chinese star closed out the match when her opponent hit a long return.
It was all over in 52 minutes.
Li will have an American opponent in the last 32 with Christina McHale due to face compatriot Lauren Davis later in the day.
Her Chinese compatriot Peng Shuai, the world No 30, will face Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain for a place in the final 32.
In the other Asian singles match of the day, Japan's Ayumi Morita will have the daunting task of taking on Russian second seed Maria Sharapova, who is seeking to lift the only major trophy she has never won.
Latest results from the fifth day of the 2012 French Open at Roland Garros on Thursday (x denotes seeded player):
Men
Second round
Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Denis Istomin (UZB) 6-2, 6-2, 6-0
Andy Murray (GBR x4) bt Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x5) bt Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (GER) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
David Goffin (BEL) bt Arnaud Clement (FRA) 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 0-6, 6-1, 6-1
David Ferrer (ESP x6) bt Benoit Paire (FRA) 6-3, 6-3, 6-2
Milos Raonic (CAN x19) bt Jesse Levine (USA) 6-4, 7-5, 6-2
Juan Monaco (ARG x13) bt Lukas Rosol (CZE) 7-6 (7/4), 6-0, 7-6 (7/5)
Santiago Giraldo (COL) bt Bernard Tomic (AUS x25) 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS x27) bt Robin Haase (NED) 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4
Nicolas Almagro (ESP x12) bt Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 6-4, 6-3, 7-5
Fabio Fognini (ITA) bt Viktor Troicki (SRB x28) 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 8-6
Women
Second round
Li Na (CHN x7) bt Stephanie Foretz Gacon (FRA) 6-0, 6-2
Petra Kvitova (CZE x4) bt Urszula Radwanska (POL) 6-1, 6-3
Klara Zakopalova (CZE) bt Maria Kirilenko (RUS x16) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS x22) bt Melinda Czink (HUN) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x9) bt Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) 6-1, 6-4
Angelique Kerber (GER x10) bt Olga Govortsova (BLR) 6-3, 6-2
Nina Bratchikova (RUS) bt Claire Feuerstein (FRA) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
Francesca Schiavone (ITA x14) bt Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
