Kvitova takes out Gajdosova in Sydney

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has ended Jarmila Gajdosova’s spirited run to reach the semi-finals of the Sydney International.

The resurgent Australian wildcard threatened a huge upset after taking the opening set before Kvitova fought back to squeeze out a tough 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory on Wednesday night.

Gajdosova had knocked out world No.13 Andrea Petkovic and then world No.11 Dominika Cibulkova, last year’s Australian Open runner-up, to surge into the quarter-finals.

But with her match against Cibulkova finishing after midnight on Wednesday morning, Gajdosova began to tire as her epic battle with Kvitova passed the two-hour mark.

Despite the loss, Gajdosova can look forward to a nice rankings boost next week and will head into the Australian Open with renewed confidence that she can finally break her duck at Melbourne Park after nine first-round defeats at the season-opening grand slam.

Kvitova next faces defending champion Tsvetana Pironkova on Thursday for a place in Friday night’s final.

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