UPDATE 6.30pm: Last year’s runner-up Daniela Hantuchova has taken out Italian fifth seed Sara Errani in a tight second-round match on Pat Rafter Arena today, marking the third top-10 player to crash out of the Brisbane International in just two days.
Errani follows world No.10 Caroline Wozniacki and Aussie seventh seed Sam Stosur in early exits from the tournament, after they fell in their first-round matches on Monday.
In a match with a total of 14 breaks of serve, the pair traded punches in a hotly contested final set, but it proved one too many for world No.6 Errani with Hantuchova finally serving out the match to love to claim a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory.
Hantuchova, who was runner-up to Kaia Kanepi in 2012, will contest her third quarterfinal at the Brisbane International, after also making it through to the final eight in 2010.
The Slovak world No.32 will face either Australian wildcard Jarmila Gadjosova or lucky loser Lesia Tsurenko, after second seed Maria Sharapova withdrew today.
After upsetting Wozniacki on Monday, Kazakhstani qualifier Ksenia Pervak has won another captivating three-set match, overcoming Poland’s Urszula Radwanska in two-and-a-half hours on Showcourt 1 to book a quarterfinal spot.
The world no.103 came from a set down to clinch a final set tie-break against Radwanska—ranked 72 spots ahead of her—and close out a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(6) victory.
Pervak, having already played five matches to reach the quarterfinal, will face either world No.1 Victoria Azarenka or German Sabine Lisicki after they play their second-round match on Pat Rafter Arena tomorrow night.
In the doubles Gadjosova continued her impressive form, teaming with fellow Aussie Olivia Rogowska to overcome the pairing of Natalie Grandin and Vladimira Uhlirova in a convincing straight sets win, 6-4, 6-2.
In other women’s doubles results, fourth seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke lauched a stunning comeback after losing the first set 6-1 to Dominika Cibulkova and Nuria Llagostera Vives, clinching victory 1-6, 6-4, 10-8 in a match tiebreak.
The second-seeded pairing of Liezel Huber and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez got away to a comfortable first-round win over Eva Birnerova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-3, to set up a second-round encounter with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sania Mirza.