Serena Williams has not been at her best, since her arrival in Istanbul. The younger Williams sister put in yet another lacklustre display, and still looks rusty. She was however able to overcome a particularly erratic Li Na herself. The US Open Champion took the match 7-6(2),6-3 smashing 18 winners.

In what was an extraordinary first set, Serena Williams came out on top and not because she played the best of tennis, but because of her composure. It was an awful start for the US Open champion, who was down 1-4 at one point but came fighting back to lead 5-4. But there still was a sting in the tail as Li broke the American back to level scores at 5 all. The eleventh game of the match was perhaps the most inspired game of tennis seen from Serena, as she worked her socks off to break Li Na back and take a 6-5 lead. Even that wasn't enough to galvanize her serve though as she was broken back moving us into the tie-break. She was finally able to take the set in the tie break, and no celebration after finishing the set symbolized the American's exasperation.

Click here to relive this topsy turvy encounter!

The second set started with Serena having to work hard to hold serve again, but she broke immediately. After a brief fight from the Chinese, the American broke once more to lead at 3-1 on serve. The fifth game was the turning point of the set, as Serena dug deep to hold serve, avoiding a couple of break points. She went on to take the set and with it the match at 6-3.