Li Na became the first player from China to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam quarterfinal Monday when she beat 10th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Li, 24, made it to the third round of the French Open last month before losing to eventual finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova.

China's Li Na celebrates winning her match against the Czech Republic's Nicole Vaidisova at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London July 3, 2006. [Reuters]

After the French Open, Li rose to No. 30 in the rankings, making her the first Chinese woman to move into the top 30.

Li was one of three Chinese women who made it into the third round at Wimbledon _ Zheng Jie lost to Kim Clijsters and Peng Shuai lost to Flavia Pennetta of Italy. The three were among six Chinese women in the singles draw here this year.