Bondarenko no match for impressive Kvitova

Wimbledon favourite Petra Kvitova made it six wins from six on grass in 2018 with victory over Kateryna Bondarenko in Eastbourne.

Published : Jun 27, 2018 00:04 IST

Petra Kvitova's stunning 2018 showed no sign of slowing down on Wednesday as she cruised into the Nature Valley International third round.

Kvitova's five tournament wins are more than anyone else on the WTA Tour this year, and adding to that tally looks a distinct possibility in Eastbourne.

World number 89 Kateryna Bondarenko proved no match for the two-time Wimbledon champion, Kvitova finishing with a flourish as she reeled off five games in a row to complete a 7-5 6-3 win.

Next up for Kvitova is a clash against old foe Agnieszka Radwanska after the Pole continued her return from injury with a battling 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 victory over Daria Gavrilova.

Radwanska and Kvitova have met 12 times in their careers, with the Czech just edging it with seven wins – including their only previous meeting on grass.

Home favourite Johanna Konta also progressed with a straight-sets victory over Aleksandra Krunic, a triumph that sets up a meeting with top seed Caroline Wozniacki.

"I'm looking forward to that," said the British number one. 

"I haven't played her [Wozniacki] in quite some time and she's obviously a grand slam champion this year, playing some great tennis, so I'll look forward to that battle."

Day three on England's south-east coast also saw Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina and Angelique Kerber celebrating – the latter brushing past Dominika Cibulkova.

Sixteenth seed Carla Suarez Navarro is out, though, beaten by world number 43 Danielle Collins.

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