Pironkova dropped off at the quarter finals in Hobart

Speed gathering Tsvetana Pironkova was stopped by acting champion in Hobart Mona Barthel and left the tournament at the stage of quarterfinals.

The Bulgarian started off with two terrific victories, reaching the WTA quarterfinals for the 16th time. Barthel, however, won the match by 6-3, 6-3. Pironkova collected 70 more points for the world rank list, of which only 40 count due to the 30 points she had to defend from last season. Pironkova left for Melbourne where she is to prepare for Australian Open, starting Monday. This is the first of the tournaments of the Big Shield.

Adapted from Bulgarian National Radio