Scheepers makes Li work for win
Chanelle Scheepers put up an early fight, taking No 4 seed Li Na of China to three sets, but eventually went down 6-2, 4-6, 1-6 in the second round of the Sydney International on Tuesday.
Scheepers, South Africa's top-ranked women's tennis player, dominated the opening set before Li, who won the French Open last year, hit back to progress to the third round.
After making it through the qualifying rounds, Scheepers had defeated Hungarian Melinda Czink in straight sets in the first round of the tournament.
Meanwhile, in Auckland, SA men's No 1 Kevin Anderson, seeded fifth, was eliminated in the first round of the Heineken Open by qualifier Adrian Mannarino of France.
The South African, playing his first tournament of the season after recovering from a knee injury, went down 6-3, 6-3