KONTA TO FACE VEKIC IN AEGON OPEN NOTTINGHAM FINAL WITH BRITS ROBSON AND RAE LOOKING TO REPLICATE SKUPSKIS’ SUCCESS IN DOUBLES

Written by: Staff on 17th June 2017

KONTA TO FACE VEKIC IN AEGON OPEN NOTTINGHAM FINAL WITH BRITS ROBSON AND RAE LOOKING TO REPLICATE SKUPSKIS' SUCCESS IN DOUBLES |

EDITOR’S NOTE – THIS IS A GREAT EVENT. A FEW TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE

World No. 8 Johanna Konta will face Croatia’s Donna Vekic in Sunday’s WTA International singles final at the Aegon Open Nottingham with fellow Britons Laura Robson and Jocelyn Rae in the doubles decider, as the last few tickets remain for Finals Day.

Brits already enjoyed success at the sold-out Nottingham Tennis Centre as Liverpudlian brothers Neal and Ken Skupski won their 14th ATP Challenger tournament together on Saturday – their first on grass – when they edged Australians Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith 7-6(1) 2-6 10-7.

Top seed Konta got past Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-2 7-5 before losing out in the doubles semifinals with Belgian partner Yanina Wickmayer, while 20-year-old Vekic outlasted fifth seed Lucie Safarova 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(4) in two hours and 48 minutes.

Vekic, who is ranked 70th in the world, said after her marathon match: “I lost one third-set tie-break earlier on this year, which was my toughest loss of the season. So I was telling myself “Come on, you have this one,” and tried to be positive, to focus on my serve, to take my time. And it worked.

“Matches like this give you a huge amount of confidence. Winning a third-set tie-break is amazing and this feeling after the match is the reason why we all play. It’s a different kind of happiness.”

Looking ahead to her clash with Konta, which will be last on Centre Court not before 3pm, the 20-year-old added: “It’s going to be a tough match. She is playing well and she is confident, but I’m also playing well and I’m hoping that I can play like this tomorrow so that it will be a good match for the crowd.”

First up on Centre Court from 11am on Sunday will be Australian duo Monique Adamczak and Storm Sanders against Robson and Rae, who beat fellow Brit Heather Watson and American Christina McHale 6-3 3-6 10-6 in only their second week together as a team. Israeli third seed Dudi Sela and Italian fourth seed Thomas Fabbiano will then contest the ATP Challenger singles final not before 1pm.

There are limited tickets still available for Finals Day Sunday. For further details, go to https://www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-open-nottingham. For information on hospitality packages, head to https://www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-open-nottingham/nottingham-hospitality or contact Elliot Sheasby aegonopen@lta.org.uk.

AEGON OPEN NOTTINGHAM – NOTTINGHAM, GBR
10-18 JUNE, 2017

RESULTS – JUNE 17, 2017

Women’s

Singles – Semifinals
[1] J. Konta (GBR) d M. Rybarikova (SVK) 62 75
D. Vekic (CRO) d [5] L. Safarova (CZE) 76(5) 36 76(4)Doubles – Semifinals
J. Rae (GBR) / L. Robson (GBR) d [4] C. McHale (USA) / H. Watson (GBR) 63 36 10-6
M. Adamczak (AUS) / S. Sanders (AUS) d J. Konta (GBR) / Y. Wickmayer (BEL) 61 36 10-6

Men’s

Singles – Semifinals
[3] D. Sela (ISR) d [2] M. Copil (ROU) 76(4) 10 Retired
[4] T. Fabbiano (ITA) d [Q] S. Groth (AUS) 64 63Doubles – Final
K. Skupski (GBR) / N. Skupski (GBR) d [2] M. Reid (AUS) / J. Smith (AUS) 76(1) 26 10-7ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2017

CENTER COURT start 11:00 am
M. Adamczak (AUS) / S. Sanders (AUS) vs J. Rae (GBR) / L. Robson (GBR)Not Before 1:00 pm
[4] T. Fabbiano (ITA) vs [3] D. Sela (ISR) Not Before 3:00 pm
J. Konta (GBR) [1] vs D. Vekic (CRO)

Topics: British tennis news, Donna Vekic, Johanna Konta, Laura Robson, Tennis, Wta