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September 1, 2014

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Home » Sports » Tennis

Kvitova adds to women’s upsets

WORLD No. 1’s Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams advanced to the next round of the US Open on Saturday but the women’s draw saw yet another big upset as Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova was sent packing by a 145th-ranked qualifier.

Third-seed Kvitova fell victim to 21-year-old Serbian Aleksandra Krunic, leaving only three of the top eight women's seeds still in the tournament. Simona Halep (2nd), Agnieszka Radwanska (4th), Angelique Kerber (6th) and Ana Ivanovic (8th) have already been shown the door.

While the women’s draw has been ravaged by upsets the top 10 men are still in the hunt, with No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, No. 5 Milos Raonic, eighth seed Andy Murray and No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga moving on.

The shock of the day was delivered by the little-known Serb Krunic, who stung the unsteady Kvitova 6-4, 6-4.

“It was an honor for me to be on the same court as Petra, who is a great champion,” said Krunic, who will come up against Victoria Azarenka in the next round.

“Of course, I didn’t expect to win. Of course, I hoped to. I’m very happy.”

Williams is the last American standing at the US Open after the remaining home-grown hopefuls said goodbye to Flushing Meadows on Saturday.

The last two hopes of the men's draw, 13th seed John Isner and Sam Querrey, both bowed out in the third round, while Nicole Gibbs and Varvara Lepchenko also made third-round exits, leaving home fans pinning their hopes on Williams heading into the second week.

Five-time US Open champion Williams played her part in the American demise, dispatching three of her compatriots. After dismissing Taylor Townsend in the opening round and Vania King in the second, Williams chased the 52nd-ranked Lepchenko with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Djokovic, a winner in 2011, has also done his part to spoil America’s grand slam party. The Serb squashed another American hope, pounding Querrey 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.

Isner bombarded Philipp Kohlschreiber with 42 aces and never lost his serve but still dropped a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (4) decision to the German.




 

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