Brave Hackney tennis starlet Anne Keothavong crashed out of the Austrailian Open in the second round after a 2-1 defeat to 30th seed German Andrea Petkovic.

The former Kingsland School pupil made a terrific start winning the opening set 6-2, but lost the second 5-7 and the third 0-6.

There were glimpses of exceptional tennis from the 27-year-old, but she will leave Australia cursing the 44 errors she made during the contest.

Both players began nervously and made a host of unforced errors, but the power of Keothavong’s forehand gave her an advantage.

The Hackney girl grew in confidence and broke Petkovic in the fifth game comfortably, with her winner a sublime forehand with her opponent struggling.

She consolidated her break and in Petkovic’s next service another powerful forehand put her 5-2 to the good.

The German did push the the British number two to deuce, but Keothavong held firm and won the first set 6-2, hitting 10 winners in the process.

Keothavong was hitting her stride and broke Petkovic in the first game of the second set to crank up the pressure on her Bosnian-born opponent.

The 27-year-old was however struggling with serve and Petkovic broke back after Keothavong smashed a bouncing ball into the net, when it seemed easier to win the point.

But there has been a certain resolve from the Hackney girl in the Austrailian Open and she fought back from 40-15 down to claim another break.

None of the opening four games went with serve, as both players continued to go from sublime to inconsistent in the second set, with Keothavong’s forehands again causing problems for her opponent.

However Petkovic began to find her stride and a well angled forehand was enough to break the Brit and take a 5-3 lead in the set.

Keothavong again broke back, but with the Hackney girls second serve becoming an issue, Petkovic levelled the match up one set apiece.

The 30th seed held the opening game in the final set and broke Keothavong to take the advantage and momentum.

Petkovic was playing her best tennis of the match and the Hackney girl struggled to stay in the game. The German was relentless and unforgiving as she won the third 6-0 and will now face Venus Williams in round three.