Ashleigh Barty loses the Australian Open quarter final to Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova – who breaks down in tears after revealing she never thought she’d return to tennis after violent home invasion
- Petra Kvitova claimed victory over Aussie tennis star Ashleigh Barty on Tuesday
- Barty lost out to Kvitova in 6-1 6-4 sets during a ruthless quarter-final defeat
- Kvitova will go on to play against Danielle Collins in Thursday’s semi-finals
Australian tennis player Ashleigh Barty has lost the Australian Open quarter final to Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, crushing her title dream.
Barty lost out to Kvitova in 6-1 6-4 sets during a ruthless quarter-final defeat.
Czech tennis star Kvitova will go on to play American Danielle Collins in Thursday’s semi-finals.
Australian tennis player Ashleigh Barty (pictured) has lost the Australian Open quarter final to Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, crushing her title dream
Barty lost out to Kvitova in 6-1 6-4 sets during a ruthless quarter-final defeat
‘Sorry, guys. I beat Ashleigh,’ Kvitova told the crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
‘She’s such a nice person and you should be very proud of her.’
The first Australian to make the women’s last eight since Jelena Dokic a decade ago, 22-year-old Barty was a passenger for most of the match, powerless to stop Kvitova’s fearsome assault.
In an ominous sign, Kvitova clubbed three breathtaking backhand winners to break Barty in the second game of the match.
Playing fearless first-strike tennis, the Czech saved a break point on her own serve the very next game with a angled crosscourt forehand winner to consolidate her advantage and forge ahead 3-0.
The first Australian to make the women’s last eight since Jelena Dokic a decade ago, 22-year-old Barty was a passenger for most of the match, powerless to stop Kvitova’s fearsome assault
In an ominous sign, Kvitova clubbed three breathtaking backhand winners to break Barty in the second game of the match
Continuing the onslaught, the sixth seed broke Barty to love in the sixth game before closing out the opening set in 27 minutes.
Barty made a more confident start to the second set, holding with her first ace of the night.
Kvitova found herself a break point down in the next game but answered with successive aces to add to the frustration of Barty and home fans.
Unfazed by a time violation after exceeding the 25 seconds allowed between points, Kvitova calmly held serve from 30-30 to level at 4-4 before breaking Barty for a third time to clinch victory after just one hour 27 minutes.
The dual Wimbledon champion teared up after the match saying she didn’t think she would return to tennis following a violent home invasion.
‘I didn’t really image me being back on this great stadium and play with the best and it’s great,’ she told reporters.
Kvitova, 28, was left injured following a shocking home invasion in 2016, in which she was threatened with a knife and sustained cuts to her playing hand.
Czech tennis star Kvitova (pictured) will go on to play American Danielle Collins in Thursday’s semi-finals
The dual Wimbledon champion teared up after the match saying she didn’t think she would return to tennis following a violent home invasion