Kvitova and Svitolina knocked out at China Open

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Unseeded Australian Daria Gavrilova upset fifth seed Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-1 in the women's singles first round of the China Open in Beijing on Saturday as Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic showed stunning powers of recovery to pull off her own shock win over sixth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

Kvitova was undermined by her own inconsistency, making 39 unforced errors, while Gavrilova made just 12.

Daria Gavrilova of Australia hits a return during the women's singles match at China Open at the China National Tennis Center in Beijing, September 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

"Petra is a really tough opponent. It was a little bit tricky, but I felt like I took my chances and I served really well today," said Gavrilova, who landed 81 percent of her first serves.

Krunic staged a remarkable rally in Beijing, after trailing by a set and a break, to beat Svitolina 0-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) for her first victory over the Ukrainian on her third attempt.

Krunic lost the first nine games of the match and trailed by a break three times in the final set, clawing herself back to level terms on each occasion before winning a dramatic tiebreak.

Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia hits a return during the match against Jelena Ostapenko (not pictured) of Latvia at China Open at the China National Tennis Center in Beijing, September 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko was given a tough examination by Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova but held her nerve, claiming six points in a row in another tense tiebreak to win 6-4, 7-6(3) and will next face Chinese wild card Wang Qiang.

(Top image: Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic during the China Open at the China National Tennis Center in Beijing, September 29, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters