BEIJING, China - Li Na continued to give her home crowd lots to cheer about on Thursday, cruising past Angelique Kerber and into the quarterfinals.

Watch live tennis from Beijing this week on TennisTV.com!

Li, seeded No.9, had beaten Kerber in both of the pair's previous meetings, and she made that 3-0 with a 47-minute, 62 60 victory, winning eight straight games from 4-2 in the first set - losing just 12 points in that stretch.

"Angelique plays quite flat and I don't like that, but after the first set it was easier," Li said. "I took my chance because I wanted to finish the match fast. In the beginning I was quite nervous but at the end I was feeling good."

Li is playing the China Open for the sixth time in her career. In her first five appearances her best result was one quarterfinal, back in 2006.

"For a long time I couldn't get back into the quarterfinals of my home event. It has been tough, but I've done it. So I'm looking forward to playing even more now. I've played here many years and I know how to play well here. Of course, it helps that there are so many fans who watch and really support me here."

See off-court photos from Beijing right here in the gallery!

Next up for Li is qualifier Anastasija Sevastova, who benefited from a walkover from No.13 seed Nadia Petrova, who couldn't play due to a right foot injury.

Sevastova has had two wins over Top 20 players before, and both have in fact come against Top 10 players, namely Jelena Jankovic at Monterrey earlier this year and Samantha Stosur earlier this week.

Li and Sevastova will be playing each other for the very first time.