Li Na booked her spot in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells by recording a 6-1 6-4 success over Aleksandra Wozniak.
Despite the one-sided scoreline in the first set, Li was forced to save two break points to deny her Canadian opponent the opportunity to keep up with her in the opener.
The top seed secured two breaks of serve on her way to taking the lead in the fourth-round meeting.
Both players struggled for control on serve in the second set and Li fell behind early on as Wozniak started to make life difficult for her rival.
However, the 26-year-old was unable to prevent Li from fighting back to steal the advantage thanks to two breaks of serve.
Wozniak delayed the seemingly inevitable by somehow saving 10 match points, but she failed to produce one final moment of drama as Li claimed the victory to set up a quarter-final against Dominika Cibulkova, who beat Petra Kvitova earlier in the day.
Callum Mulvihill
