Kvitova not surprised to beat Sharapova

PetraKvitova

Sharapova has now lost both of her matches at the lucrative season-ending tournament in Singapore and the world number two is on the brink of an early exit after losing 6-3 6-2 on Thursday.

The Russian must beat Agnieszka Radwanska in her final White Group match on Friday to have any chance of reaching the semi-finals and keep her slim hopes of ending the year top of the rankings alive.

Kvitova, on the other hand, will be assured of a place in the last four if she beats Caroline Wozniacki, who has won both of her matches, in straight sets on Friday.

The Wimbledon champion had lost her last five meetings with Sharapova before Thursday's victory, a run stretching over three years, and the Czech was not surprised to finally get one over the French Open champion.

Kvitova said: "After the first loss here, I didn't really feel well and I’m just glad to win my second match and still have a chance of being in the semi-finals.

"I think when we played the final in Beijing [when Sharapova won the China Open] I found the confidence to play against her again.

"Unfortunately I lost over there but I knew that I had the game to beat her and this was the time to do that.

"I love to play indoors – it’s pretty fast, no sun, no wind. It suits my game. I’m glad that I won today and I'm looking forward to tomorrow [Friday]."

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