Tennis: Kvitová, Štěpánek eliminated from Sydney International

Czech tennis player Petra Kvitová has been eliminated from the Sydney International tournament. She lost to Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 4-6, 3-6 in the semifinals on Thursday. Radek Štěpánek has also been knocked out when he lost to Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 in the quarterfinal of the tournament which comes a week ahead of the Australian Open. Organizers of the season-opening Grand Slam event announced seedings for the event; Kvitová has been ranked sixth while the best Czech mens’ singles prospect Tomáš Berdych is seventh.