Other tennis news in brief...

¤ Li Na blasted China to another milestone on their march to power status in women's tennis when she secured her country a place in the Fed Cup elite for the first time yesterday. The world number 22 found her best form just when she needed to in a 7-5 7-5 victory over Germany's Kathrin Woerle, which gave China an unassailable 3-0 lead in their World Group play-off at the Beijing International Tennis Centre. China, who eventually took the tie by a 4-1 margin, will now play in the eight-team World Group in 2007, while twice Fed Cup champions Germany were relegated to the second tier of the women's international team competition.

¤ Serena Williams will make her return to competitive tennis following a lengthy injury lay-off in Cincinnati this week, saying she "hopes to blow the joint up", and return to the top of the world rankings. Sidelined with a chronic left knee injury, Williams has seen her ranking slip to 140 but the ex-world number one is confident she can again become a dominating force on the WTA Tour. "I definitely think so, if I didn't I wouldn't be trying to play," Williams said. "There is definitely some potential there." The seven-time Grand Slam winner has played just three matches this year, posting a record of 2-1, and has not seen any action since a third-round loss to Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova at the Australian Open in January.

¤ France's Richard Gasquet claimed his second title in three weeks yesterday with a 7-6 6-7 6-3 6-3 win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez in the final of the Swiss Open. It was Gasquet's third career title, following his triumph at the Nottingham Open in the run-up to Wimbledon where he was beaten by world number one Roger Federer in the first round.

¤ Asian tennis authorities will launch a version of the Hopman Cup world mixed team event from this year, it was announced. The Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) said the Asian Hopman Cup would be held ahead of the global event staged in Perth, Australia in December-January with India allotted the tournament for the first three years. Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, India, Uzbekistan and China are being invited to compete in the week-long inaugural edition to be staged in New Delhi from November 13.