Birmingham 2018: Kvitova defends her crown
All the best photos from the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham.
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Eugenie Bouchard saw off Priscilla Hon of Australia 6-3, 6-4 to come through qualification and enter main draw in Birmingham (Getty)
02
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Kristyna Pliskova beat Sofya Zhuk 6-1, 6-2 on the Ann Jones court to advance to the main draw (Getty)
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Kristina Mladenovic booked her place in the last 16 in Birmingham, coming from a set down to beat Katerina Siniakova 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 (Getty)
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Eugenie Bouchard's tournament came to an end at the hands of fifth seed Jennifer Brady; American Brady won a tight first set tie-break and prevailed in three sets 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 6-4 (Getty)
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British wildcard Katie Boulter serves to Naomi Osaka (Getty)
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It was the World No.18 who progressed, though, winning 6-1, 6-2 (Getty)
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Magdalena Rybarikova beat third seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-3 in the Round of 32 (Getty)
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Second seed and World No.5 Elina Svitolina booked her place in the last 16 in Birmingham with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Donna Vekic (Getty)
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Vekic failed to beat Svitolina for the first time despite winning five straight games in the second set to send the match to a decider (Getty)
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Heather Watson's tournament ended in a straight-sets defeat to Lesia Tsurenko 7-6 (2), 7-5 (Getty)
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Johanna Konta stepped out on court to take on defending champion Petra Kvitova with the hope of building on her success to the final of the Nature Valley Open last week (Getty)
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Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova is looking to defend her title in Birmingham, and began her campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 win (Getty)
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Petra Kvitova continued her superb form in 2018 with a straight sets victor over Daria Gavrilova 6-2, 6-2 as she bids to successfully defend the title she won in 2017 (Getty)
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Katie Boulter and Heather Watson celebrate their three-set victory in the doubles Round of 16 (Getty)
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Garbiñe Muguruza suffered a shock defeat in the round of 16 to Barbora Strycova, beaten 2-6, 4-6; a disappointing result for the Spaniard (Getty)
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Mihaela Buzarnescu booked her place in the quarterfinals with a three set victory over Pertra Martic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; she now goes on to face second seed Elina Svitolina for a place in the semis (Getty)
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Elina Svitolina strode past Alizé Cornet to book her place in the last eight, running out 6-4, 6-2 (Getty)
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Petra Kvitova continued her superb form in 2018 with a straight sets victor over Daria Gavrilova 6-2, 6-2 as she bids to successfully defend the title she won in 2017; she will play Julia Görges in the next round (Getty)
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Julia Goerges navigated her way through a tough first set against last year's runner-up Ashleigh Barty to move through 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 to a quarterfinal with Petra Kvitova (Getty)
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Dalila Jakupovic will face Magdalena Rybarikova in the quarterfinals after Naomi Osaki retired before the second set in their Round of 16 match (Getty)
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Magdalena Rybarikova recovered from a set down to beat quarterfinalist from last year Kristina Mladenovic 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 to move into the last eight (Getty)
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After being knocked out in the first round last year, Lesia Tsurenko showed just how far she's come in a year as she booked her place in the quarterfinals, upsetting No.1 seed Garbiñe Muguruza 6-2, 6-4 (Getty)Barbora Strycova will now play Lesia Tsurenko
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After being knocked out in the first round last year, Lesia Tsurenko showed just how far she's come in a year as she booked her place in the quarterfinals, upsetting No.1 seed Garbiñe Muguruza 6-2, 6-4 (Getty)
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Rybarikova celebrates match point in her semifinal against Barbora Strycova (Getty)
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Kvitova and Rybarikova hug after the final (Getty)
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Kvitova takes a selfie with her trophy after her 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 triumph (Getty)
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Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic kiss their doubles trophy after beating Elise Mertens and Demi Schuurs (Getty)
