World No.2 Angelique Kerber’s title defence in Sydney is over after she was beaten 6-4 6-1 by Petra Kvitova in the tournament’s quarter-finals on Thursday night.

After two rain delays stopped play for more than two hours in the first set, world No.8 Kvitova came out the more aggressive of the pair to hand the German her first loss of the year.

The Czech star will now face Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the semi-final on Friday, while Kerber will head to Melbourne to finalise her preparations for the Australian Open.