Tennis: Erakovic falls to Kvitova

Marina Erakovic might have climbed to a career-high 39 in the world tennis rankings but she was no match for No 4 Petra Kvitova at the Madrid Open overnight (NZT), being ousted 6-2 6-3 in her first-round match in 67 minutes.

Erakovic reached the semifinals last week in Budapest but was up against last year's Wimbledon champion and the first game of the match, when she was broken, set the tone for the rest of the encounter. The Kiwi No 1 found little headway, winning only two points against Kvitova's serve in the opening set.

Erakovic and Romanian partner Monica Niculescu face fourth seeds Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova of Russia in the doubles tonight.