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MELBOURNE - Petra Kvitova shattered Australia's hopes of a first women's champion in their home event since 1978 by knocking out fifth seed Sam Stosur 7-6 6-3 to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday.
The 28th-seeded Czech silenced the fiercely parochial crowd at Rod Laver Arena by slapping a forehand winner from the baseline to clinch the first set tiebreaker 7-5, before taking a decisive break at 3-2 in the second set.
Stosur, her confidence plummeting, slapped a forehand wide to concede three match points then watched helplessly as the ice-cool Kvitova guided a forehand volley down the line to seal the match in 95 minutes.
"I liked the big court and crowd here, unfortunately it was against me," the 20-year-old Kvitova laughed in a courtside interview.
She will next play Italy's Flavia Pennetta.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by John O'Brien; To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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The 28th-seeded Czech silenced the fiercely parochial crowd at Rod Laver Arena by slapping a forehand winner from the baseline to clinch the first set tiebreaker 7-5, before taking a decisive break at 3-2 in the second set.
Stosur, her confidence plummeting, slapped a forehand wide to concede three match points then watched helplessly as the ice-cool Kvitova guided a forehand volley down the line to seal the match in 95 minutes.
"I liked the big court and crowd here, unfortunately it was against me," the 20-year-old Kvitova laughed in a courtside interview.
She will next play Italy's Flavia Pennetta.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by John O'Brien; To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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