Kvitova, Sharapova ousted at Montreal tennis

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and French Open winner Maria Sharapova suffered third-round shock exits while top seed Serena Williams avoided the upset bug Thursday at the WTA Montreal hardcourt tournament.

Russian Ekaterina Makarova upended second-seeded left-hander Kvitova 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, while diminutive Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro stunned fourth-seeded Sharapova 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, following a third-set rain delay, at Uniprix Stadium.

Williams advanced by defeating Lucie Safarova 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

Suarez Navarro, who is seeded 14th in Montreal and ranked 16th in the world, shrugged off two rain delays at the $2.4 million event and emerged with the victory over Sharapova who saw her preparations for the upcoming US Open suffer a huge setback.
 

"I couldn't find my rhythm from the beginning. Always had my back against the wall throughout the whole match," Sharapova said.

The former world No. 1 Sharapova, who'd won 11 of her previous 12 matches on tour, has now lost her last two three-set matches after winning 11 straight.

Suarez Navarro put on a crisp shot-making display as she cruised through the first set.

Sharapova, who had also started slowly but managed to rally against second-round opponent Garbine Muguruza, battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the second to force the decisive third set, but she had no answer for Suarez Navarro in the third.

"It was a tough match," Sharapova said. "I thought my opponent played a really good match.

"Even though I felt like I started feeling a little bit better, it wasn't enough in the end.