Konta is not downhearted after Aegon defeat

JOHANNA Konta believes her Wimbledon preparations are still on track despite a disappointing Aegon Classic second-round defeat to Coco Vandeweghe.

The world No 7 crashed out in Birmingham after a 6-1 6-3 loss to the American, a grass-court specialist who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.

Konta was beaten in the final of the Aegon Open last week by Donna Vekic as she failed to take the opportunity to win a first title on home soil.

And Konta does not believe the early exit in Birmingham is a blow to her build-up to Wimbledon. She said: “Me losing second round against a very good player on this surface is by no means a blow. It’s part of the game.

“Just because I am seven in the world does not mean I am entitled to winning every single match. My job is to go out there and do the best I can.

“Point being that I think I actually played two good matches here. I played a very good first round against someone who made the semis last week in Hertogenbosch. I think I played a great match there. I think last week I played five great matches. I lost to a player who played better than me.”

Konta won only 11 points as she lost the first set inside 24 minutes and, although she improved in the second set, fell to defeat in 64 minutes.

Vandeweghe faces Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in the last eight after her 6-1 6-4 win over Alison Riske.

Fifth seed Kristina Mladenovic edged into the quarter finals after a 6-4 7-6 (7/3) win over Zhang Shuai.

Meanwhile, Elina Svitolina may skip Wimbledon because of a foot problem after the world No 5 was knocked out by Camila Giorgi. She said: “Today the court was slippery and it’s so bad for my foot. It’s very uncomfortable.”