Navarro crushes injured Petkovic

Zhuhai - Carla Suarez Navarro handed injury-hampered Andrea Petkovic the first 6-0, 6-0 "double bagel" of her top-level career on Wednesday in the simplest of wins at the WTA Elite Trophy.

The Spaniard was on court for just 51 minutes against Germany's Petkovic, who was troubled by a knee problem. Petkovic won only 24 percent of points on her first serve and was broken six times.

Both players looked downcast as they came off the court and Suarez Navarro described it as a "sad" win, praising 24th-ranked Petkovic for not retiring from the match.

"I really appreciate the fight because she was on court all the time," said the Spaniard, in comments released by the Women's Tennis Association from the event in Zhuhai in southern China.

"She didn't retire. She played not only for her -- she played also for the fans, for me. You know, not a lot of players in the circuit will stay on court with the situation that Andrea was living today... was maybe a sad win for me."

Earlier Roberta Vinci beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4, and third seed Karolina Pliskova overcame former world number one Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

The Elite Trophy, which follows last week's WTA Finals for the top eight women, is a new event featuring 12 players ranked below them and held at a purpose-built facility in Zhuhai.