Second seed Pliskova slides to defeat by Martic

[May 31, 2019]    PARIS (Reuters) - Karolina Pliskova's quest for a maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open came to an end on Friday as the second seed lost 6-3 6-3 to Croatia's Petra Martic.

Croatia's Petra Martic gestures after her third round match against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

The powerful Czech struggled throughout to find the range on her feared serve and forehand as 31st seed Martic matched her best performance by reaching the last 16.

Martic broke in the seventh game and then again two games later as Pliskova hit a backhand long to drop the opener.

A lackluster Pliskova then dropped serve again at the start of the second set before hitting back with a flurry of winners to break her 28-year-old opponent twice in a row.

The fightback did not last though and Matic regained control with two more breaks before serving it out at 5-3.

Martic will play an unseeded player next, either Estonia's Kaia Kanepi or Russian Veronika Kudermetova.

There was better news for Pliskova's fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova as the 19-year-old reached the last 16 with a 6-4 6-4 defeat of Spanish 28th seed Carla Suarez Navarro.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.