Kvitova, Konta suffer early exits in Charleston

[April 05, 2018]    (Reuters) - Kristyna Pliskova rallied from a set down to beat second seed Petra Kvitova 1-6 6-1 6-3 in an all-Czech second round clash at the Charleston Open on Wednesday.

Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic hits a backhand against Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia (not pictured) on day seven of the Miami Open at Tennis Center at Crandon Park. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon winner, won a lopsided opening set before her 77th ranked opponent took control.

Pliskova's aggression saw her cruise through the second set and she went on to break her opponent twice in the decider to book a third round spot in the WTA's first clay court event of the season.

"My serve was horrible in the first set, so I had to focus on my serve and the rest of the game was better then as well," Pliskova said.

"I'm really happy, it's my second top 10 win this year, but also it's against Petra."

British sixth seed Johanna Konta was beaten 6-3 6-4 by Hungarian qualifier Fanny Stollar, who blasted 28 winners to defeat the world number 22 in an hour and 20 minutes.

The 19-year-old, ranked 219 in the world, will next face 12th seed Kiki Bertens, who beat Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic 6-4 6-2.

Last year's U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys defeated Lara Arruabarrena of Spain 6-1 3-6 6-3 and will face Italian Camila Giorgi in the third round.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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