Kvitová races through to third round at Indian Wells, Keys falls to Pavlyuchenkova

Petra Kvitová made short work of Arantxa Rus on Friday, as she breezed past the Dutchwoman to secure her spot in the third round at the BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells tournament.

The two-time Grand Slam champion required just 75 minutes to defeat the 68th-ranked Rus, pulling off the 6-2 6-2 victory in dominant fashion. Kvitová was exceptional on serve, winning 21 of 23 points behind her first serve, although she did cough up four double faults. Regardless, Rus was unable to build any momentum as her Czech opponent dictated play with her powerful groundstrokes, which led to the former World No.1 cruising through to the next round. Kvitová will face familiar foe and good friend Victoria Azarenka in the next round, as the Belarusian advanced in her match earlier in the day.

Tokyo Olympics mixed doubles gold medalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was also in action on Friday night, defeating local favorite Madison Keys 6-1 6-3 to the disappointment of many fans. The Russian was ruthlessly efficient, wrapping up proceedings in under an hour as Keys was unable to deal with the power coming off the ninth seed's racket.

Although Keys fell in the early stages of the event, compatriot Shelby Rogers advanced after a 6-2 6-2 drubbing of Kristina Kucova. The Slovak was troubled by double faults, hitting six in a match that quickly got away from her.