Kvitova stunned after shock defeat

Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova ended her Melbourne campaign early on Tuesday, beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

“I don’t think I have much to say,” a downbeat Kvitova said after the loss.

“It wasn’t really going my way the whole month. That’s how it is. It’s a sport and I just have to fight through and be better at it.”

Kvitova has seen a big slump in form since arriving in Australia, where she failed to fire at warmup events in Adelaide and Sydney.

“I didn’t play a lot of matches at the beginning of this year,” she said.

“I did have some health issues the whole month as well, so it was tough to practice. It wasn’t really easy this beginning of the season, but the season is long, so I hope that it will turnaround.”

The 31-year-old Czech said she would take a few days to clear her head before restarting her season.

“This loss is very painful, in the first round after like a whole month,” she said.