Birmingham | Konta gets off to a great start

Jo Konta maintained the fine form she showed at Roland Garros, with another solid performance on the grass courts of Birmingham where she defeated the fast-rising youngster Anett Kontaveit 6-4 6-2 in her opening round of the Nature Valley Classic.

Konta was only ranked two places higher than No. 20 Kontaveit but played at a high level throughout, wrapping up victory after 72-minutes as she prepares for Wimbledon.

Britain’s No.1 Konta, reached her third Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros, where she lost in straight sets to Marketa Vondrousova.

The Eastbourne based payer was happy with her win, especially at “not having too many dips in my level”.

But it seems the Women’s World Cup is providing her with off-court entertainment.

“It’s always good to see women in sport being celebrated,” she said. “Everyone is a lot more acquainted with the men, how well they do, how well they don’t do. The women’s is just as entertaining, it’s just as raw and it is just as easy to get behind. I’m enjoying seeing them [England] play and I watched their game the other day.”

Meanwhile two of the highest seeds were defeated in the first round with Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka both losing in three sets.

The fourth-seeded Svitolina, who has been struggling with a knee injury, lost 6-3 3-6 6-4 to Margarita Gasparyan while Sabalenka, the fifth seed, showed her frustration after losing a break advantage in the final set to go down 6-3 2-6 7-6(1) to the tricky and wily Hsieh Su-wei.