Wimbledon: Kvitova sails into second week

Defending champion Petra Kvitova has sailed into the second week of Wimbledon courtesy of her most accomplished performance of the tournament so far.

The fourth seed dropped just one game on her way to a 6-1 6-0 win over Uzbekistan-born American Varvara Lepchenko, setting up a fourth-round meeting with Francesca Schiavone in the process.

That match will no doubt present a harder task for the Czech, but for now she can reflect on a hassle-free opening week that has seen her lose just 13 games in total.

She appears to have got stronger as she has gone along too, having conceded eight games to first-round opponent Akgul Amanmuradova and four to Great Britain’s Elena Baltacha last time out.

The only time she looked in any trouble today was when she conceded two first-set break points, but she saved them with ease.

She won 53 points to her 53rd-ranked opponent’s 28 and now has a day to prepare for her meeting with Italian Schiavone, who secured her passage through with a similarly routine 6-0 6-4 win over Klara Zakopalova.