Thursday, January 5, 2017

Johanna Konta rallies past Vania King in Shenzhen Open

Johanna Konta mounted a fine recovery to win 1-6 6-3 6-2
Johanna Konta mounted a fine recovery to win 1-6 6-3 6-2

British No 1 Johanna Konta overcame a slow start against Vania King to reach the quarter-finals of the Shenzhen Open in China.

The 25-year old had to show all her fighting spirit in the second round to get past the world No 77 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 after finding herself a set and a break down.

King, who spent the majority of last year rebuilding her ranking following a back injury that sidelined her for most of 2015, looked on course to cause an almighty upset. 

The British No.1 had looked seemingly set for an early exit from the Shenzhen Open
The British No.1 had looked seemingly set for an early exit from the Shenzhen Open

The American raced to the opening set in just 26 minutes, breaking twice and leaving Konta on the back foot, before going 3-1 up in the second.

But world No 10 Konta won five straight games to level the match before an early break in the deciding set asserted her control as she eventually prevailed in 96 minutes. 

Konta sets up a quarter-final tie with Kristyna Pliskova or Zhang Kai-Lin
Konta sets up a quarter-final tie with Kristyna Pliskova or Zhang Kai-Lin

Third seed Konta will now meet either Kristyna Pliskova or Zhang Kai-Lin in the quarter-final.

Aljaz Bedene made a strong start to his 2017 campaign by beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets to reach the second round of the Chennai Open.

The 27-year-old British No 4 needed only an hour and 15 minutes to defeat the unseeded Spaniard 6-3 6-3, thus setting up a last-16 showdown with Martin Klizan of Slovakia.

Bedene, who reached the third round of the French Open last year, fired seven aces against former world No 23 Garcia-Lopez at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in southern India.

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