Tuesday 7 January 2020 07:12, UK
Johanna Konta suffered a tough start to her 2020 campaign as she was beaten by Barbora Strycova in the first round of the Brisbane International.
Konta went down 6-2 3-6 6-3 to the Czech veteran, who she also lost to in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Championships last year.
It was the 28-year-old's first match since she had ended her 2019 campaign after losing to Elina Svitolina in the US Open quarter-finals in September.
She has been battling a persistent knee injury which put the timing of her return in question, and Strycova was hardly the ideal opponent to face on her return.
Konta's hopes of an historic final appearance at the All England Club had been obliterated by a dominant victory by the 33-year-old last summer.
There were fears of a swift repeat as Strycova took control of the match in Brisbane with two breaks in the opening set. In contrast, the seventh seed Konta failed to capitalise on any of the four break point chances that she created.
The Brit did swing the game back in her favour during a dominant second set - she broke Strycova twice and didn't allow her opponent any chances to do the same on her own serve.
However, Konta's recent time out due to injury looked to be a factor in the decider. Both players struggled in a set that conatined six breaks of serve and Strycova out-lasted her to claim victory in a match lasting just over two hours.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki teamed up in the doubles for the first time to beat Japanese pair Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya 6-2 6-4 at the Auckland Classic.
Wozniacki is set to retire after the Australian Open later this month and Williams said she wanted to partner the Dane before she hung up her racket.
"I had to play with her before she retires," the 38-year-old Williams said after the win saw the unseeded pair advance to the quarter-finals, where they could face the top seeds Caroline Dolehide and Johanna Larsson.
The Japanese duo struggled to deal with Williams' powerful serve in the opening stages before they got the measure of the American veteran to break her once.
But Williams and Wozniacki, who looked relaxed throughout the match and even found the time to joke with each other, continued to press in the second set and wrapped up the match in 71 minutes.
Williams and Wozniacki begin their singles campaigns at Auckland on Tuesday against qualifier Camila Giorgi and wildcard Paige Mary Hourigan respectively.
American teenager Coco Gauff, the youngest player in the draw at 15, saw off the challenge of last year's semi-finalist Viktoria Kuzmova to advance with an impressive 6-3 6-1 victory in 61 minutes.
"I felt confident," Gauff said after her victory. "I feel like I'm moving well. I had a good offseason, and I think that's showing in my matches."
Gauff is now ranked 67 in the world in singles and will face either Laura Siegemund or Alison Van Uytvanck in the next round.
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