No drama as Konta races into US Open fourth round | Inquirer Sports

No drama as Konta races into US Open fourth round

/ 03:49 PM September 03, 2016

 Johanna Konta of the United Kingdom returns a shot to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during her third round Women's Singles match on Day Five of the 2016 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 2, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.   Mike Hewitt/Getty Images/AFP

Johanna Konta of the United Kingdom returns a shot to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during her third round Women’s Singles match on Day Five of the 2016 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 2, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Mike Hewitt/Getty Images/AFP

Two days after collapsing in the New York heat en route to a three-set second-round victory, Britain’s Johanna Konta reached the US Open round of 16 with no fuss.

The 13th-seeded Briton, who broke through for her first WTA title in Stanford in July, overwhelmed 24th-seeded Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-1.

Article continues after this advertisement

She fired 29 winners against Bencic, who bore little resemblance to the youngster who reached the quarter-finals in 2014.

FEATURED STORIES

“I felt I did a good job just staying focused on the things I want to execute and how I wanted to play,” Konta said. “I definitely made it hard for her to get into the match, I felt.

At no time during her 52 minutes on court did Konta seem to feel any ill-effects from the second-round scare that saw her slump gasping to the court, her body shaking, as she served to try to force a second-set tiebreaker in what evolved into a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Tsvetana Pironkova on Wednesday.

Article continues after this advertisement

Konta, who said she was embarrassed by the “drama” of the incident, was pleased that she was able to move on successfully.

Article continues after this advertisement

“I think I’m still constantly working on recovering,” she said. “I think it’s a management process more than anything. But I feel good. I feel well enough to play.”

Article continues after this advertisement

She has now matched her best US Open performance — last year’s run to the round of 16 after qualifying into the main draw.

Next up as she tries to improve on her best Grand Slam showing, a semi-final run at the Australian Open in January, is Anastasija Sevastova, the 48th-ranked Latvian who toppled French Open champion Garbine Muguruza before beating Kateryna Bondarenko in the third round.

Article continues after this advertisement

“I’m really happy with how I was able to just really focus on the match at hand and the work at hand and then put all else out of my mind.”

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

TAGS: Johanna Konta, Sports, US Open

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.