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Wozniacki suffers comprehensive beating

Petra Kvitova was powerful from the baseline © Getty Images

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Reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova advanced to the quarter-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Thursday - but Caroline Wozniacki was not so lucky.

Wozniacki, playing in one of the last games of the day, was given a real working-over by opponent Angelique Kerber, who never gave her opponent any respite on the way to a 6-1 6-2 win.

While clay may not be Wozniacki's perferred surface, she nevertheless looked completely lost as Kerber utterly outplayed her - adding to her burgeoning reputation with some pinpoint passing shots that kept the Dane from gaining any sort of foothold in the contest.

Kvitova, the world No. 3, needed less than an hour to remove her Italian opponent Francesca Schiavone from the competition, winning 6-2 6-2. In a fierce display of power hitting, the Czech made it extremely difficult for Schiavone to impose her more crafted game as she broke four times to zero.

The fourth round is the best Kvitova has ever managed at the French Open, but ahead of the year's second grand slam she is looking strong. The first set saw her win nine of 13 points on Schiavone's second serve, blitzing her rival from the baseline to move ahead.

Armed with a lead, Kvitova then focused on her serve, which yielded four aces as she denied Schiavone a single break point in the latter half of the contest. Two more breaks sealed the match, and few will want to face her in the last eight.

Kvitova was joined in the last eight by Mona Barthel, who beat seventh seed Marion Bartoli 6-3 6-1. Barthel broke four times without dropping her own serve in a commanding display. Na Li also progressed with a routine 6-4 6-4 win over Akgul Amanmuradova.

Later in the day, 2010 French Open finalist Sam Stosur knocked out the competition's defending champion Julia Goerges in three sets. World No. 5 Stosur looked the more comfortable from the baseline in a 6-2 2-6 6-3 victory.

No. 1 seed Victoria Azarenka also made it through to the next round, although not without seeing her opponent suffer some misfortune.

Azarenka was a set up but locked in a gruelling second set with Andrea Petkovic when the German fell awkwardly, picking up an injury to her right ankle that forced her to withdraw from the contest with the scoreline 6-2 4-4 in her opponent's favour.

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