Johanna Konta misses out on final after loss to Victoria Azarenka

Johanna Konta fell short in her bid to make the Western & Southern Open final after she was beaten by Victoria Azarenka.
Konta drew first blood in the semi-final but the two-time grand slam winner came back to win 4-6 6-4 6-1 and set up a final against Naomi Osaka.
It ends a positive week for the British number one, who was aiming to make her ninth career final, as she looked somewhere back to her best.
Superb touch 💯@vika7 | #CInCyTENNIS pic.twitter.com/1EjmZWzvkg
— wta (@WTA) August 28, 2020
Although Konta will be disappointed not to be contesting the final, her defeat does at least give her the weekend off ahead of next week’s US Open, where she has to be considered one of the contenders for the New York grand slam given her form this week.
After play at Flushing Meadows was suspended on Thursday in protest at the shooting of Jacob Blake, Konta broke in the fifth game of the match and then saw the opening set out, eventually sealing it 6-4 on her eighth set point.
Neither player was able to dominate their serve in the second set, with five breaks, but Azarenka got three of them to even the match up.
Konta was not having the same penetration as in the first set and Azarenka claimed an early break to lead 3-1 and then followed it up with another.
The Belarusian, who is enjoying something of a renaissance following several years in the doldrums after injuries and a custody battle over her son, then served it out to claim a memorable win.
🎾🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DTYjplv1yv
— Johanna Konta (@JohannaKonta) August 28, 2020
Konta said she was unaffected by the tournament being paused on Thursday, saying: “I think the nature of 2020 is kind of the mantra of ‘just roll with the punches’.
“So I think in terms of having this sort of disruption, I think it’s actually on quite a small scale compared to the other disruptions we have had in the year.
“I kind of took it with a pinch of salt and used the day to recover. Obviously we have plenty of tournaments where we have a day off.
“Usually you know about it. But I did know the night before, so we just adjusted our day for the next day and kind of just cracked on, really.”
Follow us on Twitter @T365Official.
Latest
-
WTA Tour
Iga Swiatek extends winning streak with Italian Open Round of 32 win
Iga Swiatek has continued her incredible WTA Tour winning streak.
-
ATP Tour
Rafael Nadal to face Denis Shapovalov in Italian Open rematch as he labels their previous Rome clash ‘a joke’
It’s Rafael Nadal vs Denis Shapovalov again.
-
Tennis News
Three tennis players crack top 100 highest-paid athletes in the world
Tennis has three players among the 100 top-earning athletes over the last year.
-
Tennis News
Boris Becker’s Eurosport replacement confirmed following German’s prison sentence
Boris Becker currently in jail and unable to fulfill his media duties.
-
WTA Tour
Bianca Andreescu’s advice to Emma Raducanu: ‘Sometimes it’s good to chill’ and take ‘a day off, two days off’
Emma Raducanu needs to slow down, admits Bianca Andreescu.
-
ATP Tour
Novak Djokovic backs up Alexander Zverev criticism of ‘disgraceful’ ATP scheduling
Novak Djokovic also unimpressed by ATP scheduling.
-
Tennis News
Carlos Alcaraz news: Former Grand Slam finalist explains why Spaniard is ‘superior from others at the moment’
Just what makes Carlos Alcaraz so good?
-
ATP Tour
Novak Djokovic on ‘strong guy’ Aslan Karatsev: ‘He probably has the biggest calves in tennis’
Is Novak Djokovic right? Does Aslan Karatsev have the biggest calves in tennis?
-
WTA Tour
Emma Raducanu vows to only return when her ‘back is fully right’, raising questions about French Open bid
Emma Raducanu insists she will only play when her back is fully right.