Three-time defending champion Maria Sharapova was knocked out of the 2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in dramatic fashion as Angelique Kerber sealed a come-from-behind win over three sets.
Sharapova was odds-on to seal a comfortable win after clinching the first set 6-2 - but Kerber fought back superbly to take the second 7-5 and the final 6-1 to seal her passage to the quarter-finals.
Sharapova would have had little foreknowledge of the drama as she pulled off the first break of the match and went 4-2 clear in the opener.
The next two games were mere formality for Sharapova, but Kerber was not about to take things lying down, stretching her star opponent to 5-5 and then digging out a brilliant defensive passing shot to break for 6-5 en route to the second set.
From there on, Sharapova seemed to lose all focus, and was unable to take control either from the baseline or the net, with Kerber playing some neat ground strokes to break twice for a 4-1 lead and eventually finish the match in two and a half hours.
Petra Kvitova then joined the likes of Sharapova, Agnieska Radwanska and Ana Ivanovic in the upsets list after being knocked out in the second round by up-and-coming American Madison Brengle.
With Ivanovic and Radwanska dropping out earlier this week, third-seed Kvitova was the latest to fall as Brengle booked her place in the quarter-final with a 6-3 7-6 (7/2) win in an hour and 35 minutes.
Brengle broke into the world top-100 last year and has since risen to 43. On Thursday, she showed plenty of reasons for that climb, coming out in full swing and racing through the first set 6-3 despite Kvitova saving five break points.
Kvitova had to withdraw from recent tournaments in Miami and Indian Wells due to exhaustion but, to her credit, came out fighting in the second set and even broke the Brengle serve once en route to setting up a tie-break finish.
However, the American was not be denied a dream first win against a top-10 opponent, as she easily saw out the tie-break 7-2 to claim victory.
Kvitova gave full credit to her opponent after the match, telling the WTA website: "I think that Madison played a solid match. She didn't miss much and it was really difficult for me because when I had the opportunity for winners I missed."
Brengle will now face the conqueror of Ivanovic, Caroline Garcia, in the quarter-final, with the latter having to battle against wildcard Carina Witthoeft in a 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 win.
Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki avoided matching Kvitova's fate, though the fourth-seed did have to bounce back from a break down to eventually win 7-6 (7/5) 6-1 against Lucie Safarova.
Both players had shared three wins apiece prior to Thursday's match, though Safarova had mixed results with her serve on Thursday, meaning Wozniacki edged the first set before breaking her opponent thrice in the second to ensure victory in less than 90 minutes.
Italian clay specialist Sara Errani showed few after-effects from her tense win over Radwanska on Wednesday, as she easily saw out Zarina Diyas 6-4 6-1 to set up a meeting against Simona Halep, while Ekaterina Makarova will face Kerber after going past Marina Melnikova 6-2 6-3.
Source: PA
