Pliskova crashes out, Kerber survives scare

World No. 3 Karolina Pliskova was dumped out in the second round of the Madrid Open yesterday after a 6-3, 6-3 defeat by Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova.

However, top seed Angelique Kerber fought back from 5-3 down in the deciding set to avoid a similar fate as she overcame Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 to set up a potential third-round showdown with Maria Sharapova.

Pliskova, seeded second in the absence of world 
No. 1 Serena Williams as she is expecting her first child, has struggled on the clay after a great start to the season on the hard courts of Australia and the United States.

Sevastova was solid on serve throughout and needed just one break in the second and she served out to set up a meeting with Barbora Strycova or Lara Arruabarrena in the third round. - AFP