Wednesday 22 August 2018 13:29, UK
British No 1 Johanna Konta began her final competitive preparations for next week’s US Open with a straight-sets victory over Laura Siegemund in the Connecticut Open first round.
The world No 46 defeated her German opponent 6-2 7-5 in one hour and 46 minutes in New Haven.
Konta had lost both her previous meetings with Siegemund, world No 146, but ended that unwanted record to book a meeting with Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro.
"I knew coming into the match that Laura is one of the best competitors out there, regardless of how many matches she's played since she's come back," Konta said about her opponent, who suffered a right knee injury earlier in the season.
"She's always going to be very tough to play and her level got better and better...as we saw from the first and second sets.
"I just tried to knuckle down and keep doing the good things that I did do in the first set, and trust that that was going to bring me opportunities, and I took a couple."
The 27-year-old made the ideal start to the match by breaking Siegemund in the opening game of the match and then doubled her initiative before assured serving enabled her to win the first set.
After Konta lost her serve for the first time in the sixth game of the second set, the Briton regained the upper hand with a fourth break in the match before saving a break point to close out the match.
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Tennis is back on you Sky Sports screens with the Laver Cup in September while we will also be across the final major of the year in New York as the US Open gets underway on August 27, right through to the final with our live blogs, reports, features and reaction.
