Kvitova and Pironkova through to second round

London: Bulgaria`s Tsvetana Pironkova and fellow 2010 semi-finalist Czech Petra Kvitova eased through their opening matches at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

Kvitova, who had never won a match on grass until last year`s Wimbledon, needed less than an hour to dispatch America`s Alexa Glatch 6-2 6-2 and Pironkova soon followed with a 6-2 6-1 win over Italian Camila Giorgi. At 4-2 down in the second set Glatch, wearing strapping on her left leg and ankle, battled hard to stay in the match, saving two break points, before eighth seed Kvitova fired a powerful cross-court backhand past her to take the game. As fans outside the court strained to catch a glimpse of the action, the 21-year-old left-hander polished off her win with an effortless ace to set up a second round with Britain`s Anne Keothavong. It was a similar story on court 19 as 23-year-old Pironkova, who last week lost to Serena Williams in the American`s first match back after nearly a year off, broke world number 122 Giorgi in the second game to take an early lead. A double fault by the error-prone Italian handed Pironkova the first set and the she stormed to a 5-0 lead in the second with her powerful serve too much for Giorgi to handle. Bureau Report