British qualifier Johanna Konta has booked her placed into the second round of the Wuhan Open following a 6-4, 7-5, win over German 13th seed Andrea Petkovic.
During the roller-coaster match, both women experienced difficulties with their serve with ten breaks of service (four for Konta and six for Petkovic). The world No.63 experienced a tough start to the match as she trailed 1-3 in the opening set before gradually clawing her way back to level the match at 4-4. Petkovic had two break point opportunities to break for a 5-3 lead but failed to take advantage of them. The failure was costly as the British No.2 pounced on Petkovic’s serve in the next game by surging to three break point chances, converting her second to lead 5-4. Nerves didn’t seem apparent for Konta as she served out the first set to love.
The second set shared similarities to the first with a series of early breaks of service. The set was going evenly until a long game at 5-5 which consisted of six deuces. Petkovic successfully fended off three break points, but succumbed in the fourth as Konta finally broke for a chance to serve for the match. Similar to serving for the first set she swiftly opened up a 40-0 lead, however this time the 13th seed responded by saving three match points to force the game to deuce. The hard work invested by Petkovic was short-lived as Konta got another match point and this time successfully served it out to take the match.
It is the second time that Konta has beaten Petkovic this month. Their first encounter was in the third round of the US Open where Konta won in straight sets. Following her win, Konta has won 19 out of her last 20 matches since Wimbledon. Current British No.1 Heather Watson will need to win her first round match against Jelena Jankovic otherwise Konta will become the highest ranked British player for the first time in her career.
In the next round she will play Victoria Azarenka for the first time in her career. The two-time Australian Open champion endured a tough second set on route to defeating American qualifier Lauren Davis 6-2, 7-6 (4). Azarenka is currently ranked 23rd in the world and hasn’t won a title since 2013.
Elsewhere on the first day of competition, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova booked a second round showdown with top seed Simona Halep. The world No.33 crushed fellow countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0,6-1, after 49 minutes. Pavlyuchenkova wasn’t the only player with a quick win. 33-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni defeated Sam Stosur 6-2, 6-1, in exactly one hour.
