Kvitova overcomes Schiavone and rain to win through

Defending champion Petra Kvitova came back from a set and a break down to beat Italian Francesca Schiavone 4-6 7-5 6-1 in a rain-disrupted fourth-round match at Wimbledon on Monday.

Defending champion Petra Kvitova came back from a set and a break down to beat Italian Francesca Schiavone 4-6 7-5 6-1 in a rain-disrupted fourth-round match at Wimbledon on Monday.

Kvitova, the fourth seed, looked to be in trouble when former French Open champion Schiavone went a set and 2-1 up, taking advantage of a double fault to help her break the Czech.

Kvitova, however, broke straight back and went 6-5 up before light rain began falling on Court Three.

The match continued after a series of stops and starts and Schiavone was clearly unhappy at being told to resume play early in the third set, complaining to no avail that the grass was damp.

As the Italian continued to glower and mutter, Kvitova raced through two breaks of serve to wrap up the set in 39 minutes and will now face former champion Serena Williams.