Petra Kvitova knocked out of Australian Open by Daria Gavrilova in second round

Sixth seed Petra Kvitova has been knocked out of the Australian Open at the second-round stage by Daria Gavrilova, who earned a 6-4 6-4 victory in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The 2012 semi-finalist broke serve twice in the first set, but she struggled to hold as Gavrilova snatched three breaks in a row to give herself a surprise one-set lead.

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Gavrilova, who represents Australia after switching from Russia last year, managed to keep hold of her momentum by breaking Kvitova's serve to take a 4-2 lead in the second.

Kvitova tried to turn things around by breaking back, but it did not shake Gavrilova as she was able to respond and eventually win the contest.

The young tennis star has not progressed further than the third round in the Grand Slam.