Tennis – Australian Open – Hisense Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 16, 2018. Johanna Konta of Britain hits a shot to Madison Brengle of the U.S. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
January 16, 2018
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Ninth seed Johanna Konta skipped past Madison Brengle into the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday, the Briton overpowering her American opponent 6-3 6-1 in 66 minutes on Hisense Arena.
Australia-born Konta, who reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park two years ago, brushed off an early exit in her Sydney International title defense last week with an aggressive display that removed any doubts about her fitness.
Brengle had won three of their four previous meetings but grabbed her only break when already two down in the opening set and continued the exodus of American women that was a feature of day one at the year’s first grand slam.
Konta, 26, needed five match points to finish off the world number 90 but finally sealed victory when Brengle ballooned a shot wide. The Briton will meet another American, Bernarda Pera, in the second round.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
