Stanford Classic: Konta grabs maiden WTA title

World number 14 the first Briton to win the tournament since 1977

SAN FRANCISCO: Britain’s Johanna Konta captured her first WTA title in style on Sunday, beating former world number one Venus Williams 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 at the WTA hardcourt tournament in Stanford, California.

Konta, now up to 14th from her 18th ranking in the world and seeded third, appeared on her way to an emphatic victory in her first career final after racing to a 4-1 lead with two breaks of serve in the second set.

But Venus, seeking her 50th career title, won six of the next seven games to knot the match at a set apiece.



The 25-year-old Konta, who fired 12 aces to three from Venus, didn’t let the seven-time grand slam champion’s resurgence rattle her.

“Quite honestly you’d expect nothing less of a champion that she is,” said Konta. “That’s what great champions do. They raise their level. They definitely don’t give away a match.”



She then broke Venus in the third game of the final set, and took a 3-1 lead with her 10th ace of the match. She broke Venus again to serve for the match at 5-2, and despite a couple of nervy missteps in the final game sealed the victory on her third match point.

“It was quite an incredibly humbling experience,” said Konta, the first Briton to win the tournament since Sue Barker in 1977.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2016.

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