KONTA REACHES FIRST AEGON OPEN NOTTINGHAM SEMIFINAL AFTER BEATING BARTY 6-3 7-5

Written by: Staff on 16th June 2017

KONTA REACHES FIRST AEGON OPEN NOTTINGHAM SEMIFINAL AFTER BEATING BARTY 6-3 7-5

during day five of the Aegon Open Nottingham at the Nottingham Tennis Centre on June 16, 2017 in Nottingham, England. |

Credit: Getty Images for British Tennis

AEGON OPEN NOTTINGHAM – NOTTINGHAM, GBR

10-18 JUNE, 2017

World No. 8 Johanna Konta is through to her first Aegon Open Nottingham semifinal after a 6-3 7-5 victory over Australian 21-year-old Ashleigh Barty in the WTA International singles event.

It took top seed Konta one hour and 31 minutes to get past the 2017 French Open doubles finalist, with the 26-year-old going on to face the winner of the clash between Magdalena Rybarikova and qualifier Kristie Ahn, who play third on Centre Court on Friday.

Speaking after her match at the Nottingham Tennis Centre, the British No. 1 said: “I only had one little dip but I tried to stay strong. I felt I was able to raise my game. It was difficult out here again with the conditions, but overall I thought we played a very good match. I really enjoy competing out here.”

Having been down a break in the second set, Konta was pleased to come from behind and secure the win in straight sets before her doubles quarterfinal with Belgian partner Yanina Wickmayer later in the day.

“It was definitely a nice little comeback,” Konta added. “I worked very hard to get myself back into that second set and stop Ashleigh from running away with it.

“I’m enjoying it [being in both the singles and doubles events]. It’s a real opportunity to have a little more time on the grass.”

After suitable rest, Konta and Wickmayer will take on third seeds Casey Dellacqua and Hao-Ching Chan third on Court 1, while Court 2 will see an all-British semifinal in the ATP Challenger men’s doubles as brothers Neal and Ken Skupski battle Brydan Klein and Joe Salisbury for a place in Saturday’s final. Qualifier Lloyd Glasspool will be looking for his sixth consecutive win in the East Midlands as he takes on third seed Dudi Sela last on Centre Court in the men’s singles.

Earlier in the day, British pairing Laura Robson and Jocelyn Rae also came from a set down to beat Darija Jurak and Anastasia Rodionova 4-6 6-3 10-7 to advance to the women’s doubles semifinal, where they will face fellow Brit Heather Watson and her partner Christina McHale of the USA.

Further quotes and video footage from Konta’s post-match press conference to follow after her doubles match.

Topics: Aegon Open Nottingham, Ashleigh Barty, Grass tennis, Johanna Konta, Sports, Tennis News, Wta