Petrova slumps to surprise defeat in Warsaw

WARSAW, May 2 (Reuters) Nadia Petrova slumped to a 6-3 6-3 defeat to Italy's Mara Santangelo in the second round of the Warsaw Cup today.

The fifth-seeded Russian, who also struggled to overcome unranked Polish junior Katarzyna Piter in her opening match, lacked consistency and was often hurried into errors by a resilient opponent.

Petrova hurled her racquet to the ground in frustration as she went through a disastrous patch in the opening set, dropping 10 of 11 points at one stage.

She began the second set well, conceding just three points in the first three games, but allowed Santangelo back into the match.

Claiming the next six games, the Italian clinched victory on her fourth match point when Petrova sent a forehand long.

REUTERS BJR HS1634