OH NO, JO
Chronic Konta sent crashing by Serbian unknown Krunic
JOHANNA KONTA crashed out of the US Open last night as her Grand Slam season ended in sheer misery.
The Brit No.1 fell in the first round at Flushing Meadows to Serbian Aleksandra Krunic, 71 places below her in the world rankings.
Konta, seeded seventh in New York, was left stunned by a 6-4 3-6 4-6 loss to Krunic, who had gone beyond the first round of a Grand Slam only twice in her career before last night. And it was also only the second time Krunic has defeated a player ranked in the top 10.
Konta’s march to the semi-final of Wimbledon and quarter-final of the Australian Open earlier this year seemed a long time ago as she floundered on day one of the tournament. The 26-year-old had looked unconvincing despite taking the first set, making only 45 per cent of first serves.
She had raced to a 4-1 lead early on but allowed Krunic to pull it back to 4-4 before breaking her rival again and serving out for the set.
The Moscow-born Serb grew in confidence after levelling the match in the second set, winning three games in a row to clinch it 6-3 and unsettle Konta still further.
Konta fought back from a break down in the final set, but her opponent refused to be cowed.
Krunic broke Konta again at 3-3 and then held her nerve to serve out for victory. It’s the second time in a Major this season that Konta has crashed at the first hurdle, following on from her early exit at the French Open in the spring. In the absence of Andy Murray, hopes were high that Konta could win her first Major on her favourite hard-court surface. She was also one of eight women in with a chance of being named world No.1, but those hopes were dashed during a miserable two hours in New York. Fellow Brit Heather Watson (below) crashed out at the first round for a not so magnificent seventh year in a row, losing 6-4 6-4 to French rival Alize Cornet.
Watson fell flat, but insists she’s still head over heels for the Big Apple despite another first round loss. She won the junior title at Flushing Meadows in 2009 but hasn’t won a singles match at the US Open since she first qualified for the Slam in 2011.
She said: “I still love New York. I felt a lot better in my match today than I have in some previous years. I didn’t feel bad out there, I just felt she was better than me on the day.”
Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza notched up her first-ever victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium with a 6-0 6-3 win over American Varvara Lepchenko.