BEIJING, Sept 21 - Chinese number one Li Na claimed a quarter-final berth at the China Open on Thursday by beating unseeded Russian Elena Vesnina 3-6 6-1 6-1 after dropping the first set.

China's Li Na celebrates after winning her match against Russia's Elena Vesnina at China Open in Beijing September 21, 2006. Li won 3-6 6-1 6-1. [Reuters]

Despite those losses two Chinese players will feature in the last eight of the tournament for the first time after Peng Shuai booked a quarter-final appearance.

"In the first set (Vesnina) made me very uncomfortable with her backhands, but the main problem was that I was in too much of a hurry," seventh seed Li told reporters.

"In the second set I calmed down and decreased the number of unforced errors, which was effective."

Zheng Jie, suffering from an injured ankle, lost in a tiebreak to Davenport after trying to make the taller American run around the court.

"In the first set I thought about trying to move her around, but I made too many unforced errors and she attacked quite powerfully," Zheng said.

"My injury affected me and I thought about withdrawing but the crowds were cheering for me so I kept going until the end of the match."

Davenport will face Mauresmo for a place in the last four and, despite winning the duo's last 11 encounters, she was taking nothing for granted.

"It's a little funny and weird to have beaten one player so many times in a row. She's obviously a great player and now the number one player in the world. I don't expect an easy game tomorrow. I will have to play better than today," she said.

Third seeded Russian Nadia Petrova thrashed Greek Eleni Daniilidou 6-1 6-2 to win her first match in nearly three weeks and set up a meeting with Serbian Jelena Jankovic, a 6-3 6-2 winner over Mauresmo's compatriot Marion Bartoli.