Petra Kvitova, Ashleigh Barty move at Qatar Total Open

DOHA: A second-round clash between former champions at the Qatar Total Open ended in victory for No.8 seed Petra Kvitova, who came from behind to defeat the unseeded Carla Suárez Navarro 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in one hour and 43 minutes. The pair have been squaring off for 12 years, having first met in Fed Cup action in 2009 and split their previous meetings six apiece - but today, Kvitova overturned two perhaps surprising patterns in their rivalry. Coming into this week, it was the Spaniard who led the head-to-head 5-3 on outdoor hard courts - and who was unbeaten in their three previous Middle East encounters, in Dubai 2014 and 2015 and Doha 2015.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova had been forced to withdraw from the St. Petersburg quarterfinals two weeks ago due to illness, and opened in patchy form against an opponent playing her final season on the WTA Tour. But the Czech would raise her game to supreme heights to run away with the match, finishing with 39 winners to 29 unforced errors and six aces.

Next up for the Australian Open quarterfinalist will be 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, who - in a contrast to her epic first-round win over qualifier Jil Teichmann - needed only one hour and 19 minutes to complete a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Barbora Strycova.

Top seed Ashleigh Barty moved into the next round easily by defeating Laura Siegemund 6-2 6-3. Yulia Putintseva beat Elise Mertens 4-6 6-3 6-2. Agencies

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