MELBOURNE: Reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova downed Serbia's Ana Ivanovic in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday.
After cruising through the first set Kvitova held off a late fight-back from the Serb to win 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) in 85 minutes in the first match of the day in the Rod Laver Arena.
The tall left-hander broke Ivanovic twice in the first set and once in the second, but was herself broken when serving for the match at 5-4.
Ivanovic held her next service game to love as Kvitova began to look shaky, but the second seed produced some big serves to take the set into a tiebreak.
And Kvitova took charge of in the tiebreak, quickly opening a 6-2 lead and sealing a place in the quarter-finals when an Ivanovic backhand hit the bottom of the net.
The Czech world number two hit more than twice as many winners as Ivanovic -- 30 to 14 -- which proved the difference between the two players.
"It was quite a hard match at the end of the second set," she said, adding that she was happy to be off the court early on a typically hot Melbourne day.
"I think I was quite lucky I played my match at 11 o'clock. It's hot, but we are in Australia so we are ready for it."
Kvitova has now reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the second year in row and will next play either Italian Sara Errani or Zheng Jie from China. (AFP)
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