The first day of action at the Monterrey Open saw double success for Great Britain’s top two players on the WTA Tour.
Australian Open semifinalist, Johanna Konta, broke her opponent’s service four times to produce a 6-3, 6-3, win over world No.74 Mariana Duque-Marino. Konta, who is the fourth seed in the tournament, won 79% of her service points compared to Duque-Marino’s 49% to seal the win after an hour and 17 minutes. Despite the seemingly straightforward win, Konta admitted that she found the conditions in Mexico tough.
“It was a difficult match, because the weather conditions changed constantly during the meeting.” The world No.17 said.
Joining Konta in the second round will be Heather Watson. The 23-year-old faced Japan’s Misaki Doi, a player ranked 30 places above her in the rankings. The Brit required almost three hours to defeat Doi 6-4, 6-7(0), 6-3. Watson had an opportunity to take the match in straight sets after having a match point on her serve at 6-5 in the second set. She was unable to capitalize as Doi broke back before claiming the tiebreaker to love. Despite her second set disappointment, Watson managed to close out the match by breaking her rival twice in the final set.
The triumph was a much needed win for Watson. Since reaching the quarterfinals at the Hobart International in January, she has suffered back-to-back first round defeats at the Australian Open and Acapulco Open. The slum has lead to her falling down the rankings to 84th.
Sixth seed Alison Van Uytvanck maneuvered her way past America’s Irina Falconi 6-4, 6-2. The Belgian was put under pressure by the American throughout the match, fending off ten break points (eight of which occurred in the first set). The world No.47 also produced six aces during her straight sets win.
Completing the quartet of first round winners is Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. The 33-year-old enjoyed a convincing 7-5, 6-4, win over Germany’s Tatjana Maria. The former Wimbledon semifinalist is now on course for a potential second round showdown with second seed Caroline Wozniacki. Last year Lucic-Baroni lost in three close sets to the Danish player in the Linz Open.
Wozniacki’s first round match will be on Tuesday against Olga Govortsova of Belarus.
