French Open 2020: Petra Kvitova hammers Shuai Zhang in straight sets to reach quarter-finals

Seventh seed Petra Kvitova made short work of Shuai Zhang as she hammered the 31-year-old in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the 2020 French Open.

Kvitova, now one of the favourites for the tournament following the glut of upsets over the weekend, got off to the perfect start when she raced into a double break lead, eventually winning the first set 6-2.

The Czech broke in the first game of the second set as well but Zhang dug in, breaking back after she was broken a second time to get back to 5-3.

Zhang held serve to put the pressure back on Kvitova, who was starting to stutter a bit, but she closed the match out impeccably after a nervous final wait on the line judge on the deciding point.

It is the first time since 2012 Kvitova has reached the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros. She will next face Laura Siegemund after she won in straight sets against Paula Badosa.

"It was a great one today for sure," said Kvitova, who returned to action at the 2017 French Open following a knife attack six months earlier that left her with career-threatening hand injuries.

"To be back on the same court that I made my comeback and to make the quarter-final is something I didn't expect. I'm trying to play faster here and play aggressive off the returns.

Kvitova, who reached the semi-finals in 2012, made her intentions clear from the start as she seized on anything short to dominate from the baseline, moving 4-0 ahead in 15 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Zhang, in the fourth round of a Slam for only the third time in 33 attempts having also not dropped a set so far, finally began to dig her heels in as Kvitova's error-count increased but she was unable to turn the tide.

Kvitova had to wait around in the cold as Shuai took a medical timeout at the end of the first set, but she turned up the heat to get an early break in the second set. She broke again to lead 5-2 but some wild errors allowed Zhang to win two straight games and create some tension. Kvitova regained her focus though to seal victory with a love service hold.

Siegemund reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final as she came through a tight opening set before cruising past Badosa 7-5, 6-2.

Siegemund won four games in a row to clinch the first set from 3-5 down and then eased through the second set.