Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova stuns Li Na in third round of Wimbledon

The Czech sprung a major surprise as she emerged triumphant 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) from an enthralling contest at the All England club on Friday.

Li had claimed victory in the only two previous meetings between the pair, both of which came in 2011 at the Australian Open and French Open respectively.

The Chinese went on to win at Roland Garros that year and appeared well set to reach the last 16 at the grass-court tournament when she broke Zahlavova-Strycova in the opening game of the match.

However, Zahlavova-Strycova's resilience was a consistent theme of the encounter, with the world number 43 matching Li in every department.

Li has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and her failure to produce her best form on grass was showcased again as Zahlavova-Strycova fought back to force a tie-break, which she won with a thumping forehand down the line.

It looked as though Li was going to recover from that setback on set point when ahead 5-4 in the second, but she wasted that chance by sending a backhand volley into the net.

Unforced errors, of which Li committed 37, were a feature of the contest, and that moment proved pivotal as Zahlavova-Strycova again held on for another tie-break.

Li could not recover from that missed opportunity, with Zahlavova-Strycova displaying the greater composure.

Zahlavova-Strycova appeared to have secured progress when Li sent a forehand long at 6-5 in the breaker, only for the call to be overturned by Hawk-Eye.

But it mattered not as Li committed a double-fault on the replayed point, handing glory to Zahlavova-Strycova, who will now face Caroline Wozniacki in the next round.