Wimbledon champion Kvitova out of Eastbourne

Petra Kvitova will head to next week's start of her Wimbledon title defence without a win on grass after exiting in her opening match at the Eastbourne event on Tuesday 7-5, 6-4 to Ekaterina Makarova. Czech Kvitova was humbled at Devonshire park in 91 minutes in the second round by the Russian, who benefitted from six Kvitova double-faults and broke the second seed five times. On the men's side, Belgian Steve Darcis put out Australian Matthew Ebden 6-2, 6-4 while Uzbek Denis Istomin beat Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-4, 6-3. The Makarova win was a reversal of a victory here a year ago by Kvitova over the Russian in the second round. The 48th-ranked Makarova, winner of the 2010 Eastbourne title, gained grass experience last week in Birmingham as she reached the semi-finals.