World number one Serena Williams’s 27-match unbeaten run ended with a 6-2 6-3 defeat by Petra Kvitova in the Madrid Open semi-finals yesterday.

Czech Kvitova will face Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final after she surprisingly knocked out defending champion Maria Sharapova.

Williams had not lost since October but her mood appeared negative and she was slow around the court against fourth seed Kvitova who broke the American’s first service game and never looked back.

Sharapova crashed out after failing to match the solid hitting of unseeded Kuznetsova who won 6-2 6-4.

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