Kvitova's Wuhan quest ended by Pavlyuchenkova

The seeds continue to tumble at the Wuhan Open as two-time champion Petra Kvitova bowed out on Wednesday.

Petra Kvitova at the Wuhan Open

Petra Kvitova became the latest big name to exit the Wuhan Open on Wednesday as the two-time champion was beaten by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Kvitova is the most successful player in Wuhan's short history after winning in 2014 and 2016, but she will have to wait for a third crown after Pavlyuchenkova came from a set down to secure a 3-6 6-3 6-3 win.

She joins Simona Halep, Sloane Stephens, Elina Svitolina, Angelique Kerber and defending champion Caroline Garcia in bowing out early, with only four seeds remaining in the draw.

After falling behind 3-2 in the opening set, Kvitova showed her quality to reel off four games in a row to move ahead – albeit after saving five break points in the ninth.

Pavlyuchenkova continued to apply pressure and was quickly enjoying a 3-0 lead in the second, Kvitova having to fend off three more chances on her own serve to avoid a thrashing.

The deciding set saw both players trade breaks but from 3-3 proceedings turned Pavlyuchenkova's way, the Russian making more inroads on Kvitova's serve.

Kvitova battled valiantly in the final game of the match, but after saving four match points she finally succumbed – leaving Pavlyuchenkova to progress to a quarter-final tie with Ashleigh Barty, who had knocked out Kerber earlier in the day.