Konta and Barty cruise to victory in Nature Valley Open

NOTTINGHAM: Australian top seed Ashleigh Barty and British number one Johanna Konta eased to first round victories at the Nature Valley Open in Nottingham as they prepare for next month’s Wimbledon. Defending champion Donna Vekic, of Croatia, earned a hardfought win over British wild card Gabriella Taylor 75, 57, 76 (73) on Tuesday. “That was a tough match – I knew she was going to play well because she’s already had a few matches on grass,” Vekic, the sixth seed, said. “It was my first match so I was struggling a little bit to find some rhythm, but I think winning 76 in the third is very good for my confidence.” Barty, a quarterfinalist at the tournament in 2016 and 2017, proved why grass was her favourite surface as she swept aside Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele 63, 63 to progress to the last16. “It was pretty clean for a first match on grass. I’m very pleased with that,” Barty said. “The beauty of grass court tennis is that you get better with matches, and there’s no better way than to get out there and try to fix up your game.” Fourthseed Konta, who finished runnerup to Vekic at Nottingham last year, is looking to move past an underwhelming start to the season in front of the home crowd. The 27yearold beat Japan’s Kurumi Nara 62, 63 to book a second round spot. Konta will take on compatriot Heather Watson in the last16 while Barty faces China’s Yingying Duan. Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova, Japanese third seed Naomi Osaka and Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu will play their second round matches later.