Petra Kvitova stunned by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round – Brisbane International 2013
Yet another major upset at the Brisbane International tournament was witnessed on Tuesday afternoon when one more Top-10 contender fell out of the event. This time, it was the world number eight, Petra Kvitova, who was stunned
by the all-round brilliance of the unseeded Russian youngster, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, in the second round brawl. The 36th ranked underdog registered an assertive score line of 6-4, 7-5, to book a berth in the quarter-final rounds of the season-opening
tournament in Brisbane , Australia.
The Czech number one, Kvitova, was anticipated to have an explosive start to her New Year’s campaign but it went the other way round. She kept struggling with her fitness and form, suffering an early exit from Brisbane International
in a dismal manner. 22-year-old Kvitova had won both of her last encounters against Pavlyuchenkova in 2012 WTA season but couldn’t sustain her winning impetus this time round. The Russian youngster registered her third victory against her and improved 3-4
in the all-time head-to-head series after Tuesday’s matchup.
Pavlyuchenkova simply took the better of the left-handed Czech contestant in every segment of the game. She kept her basics right, avoided spilling too many unforced errors and kept clinching crucial points in the contest to come
out as the surprise winner. She wasn’t expected to hunt down the world number eight that easily in straight sets but her precise hitting made it easier for her to do so. Although Pavlyuchenkova had an ordinary first serve accuracy of 55 per cent in the match,
she secured 28 out of 38 points on it and nailed five out of nine break points en route to victory. Kvitova could barely register three out of five break points to finish on the losing side in the end.
Kvitova seemed extremely rusty the entire time in the competition. She displayed her true class in the opening round encounter against Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, beating her in straight sets, but fell miserably in Tuesday’s
battle.
The unseeded Russian will either face the fourth seeded German, Angelique Kerber, or Monica Puig, in the quarter-final round of Brisbane International later this week.
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