Madrid: Defending champion Kvitova dumped

Defending champion Petra Kvitova crashed out of the Madrid Open when she was upset by Czech compatriot Lucie Hradecka 6-4 6-3 in the second round on Wednesday.

 

The world number four and seeded third this year, Kvitova used her 2011 success at the premier clay event in the Spanish capital as a springboard for a first grand slam singles title at Wimbledon and went on to triumph at the season-ending WTA championships.Azarenka, Sharapova and Serena progress in Madrid

 

The graceful left hander has yet to win a title this year, however, after claiming six last season, and had her serve broken five times by Hradecka, ranked 105th in the world.

 

There were no such problems for Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who leap-frogged Kvitova to number three in the latest rankings, in her second-round match against Sara Errani.

 

Radwanska snapped Errani's 16-match winning streak on clay, which netted her titles in Acapulco, Barcelona and Budapest, with a dominant performance, crushing the Italian 6-0 6-1 to set up a third-round meeting with another Italian, Roberta Vinci.

 

World number one and Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, who lost to Kvitova in last year's Madrid final, plays her second-round match against former number one Ana Ivanovic later on Wednesday.