Lulu Sun cruises through Guangzhou qualifying opener

Lulu Sun needed just under an hour to win her match in the first round of qualifying at the WTA 250 tournament in Guangzhou, China on Sunday night.

The 24-year-old Kiwi defeated local hope Li Yuyao 6-4 6-0 in 59 minutes to move to within one match of making it into the main draw.

After playing well in WTA 125 tournaments over the past month, where she won nine of 11 matches, Sun has moved up to playing a higher level tournament this week.

Her current ranking of 124 wasn’t high enough for direct entry into the main draw, so she’ll need to win two matches in qualifying to make it in.

Against Li, the first set was tight, although the seven aces Sun served during it helped her come through it.

But Sun dominated the second set, winning 24 of the 30 points in it, quickly wrapping up the match.

In the final round of qualifying Sun faces Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah from France. The 19-year-old has a world ranking of 128.