Doctor does the trick for Konta

Johanna Konta recovered from a second-set wobble to beat Lesia Tsurenko in the opening round of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham.

The British No 1 had little time to adjust to the courts at the Edgbaston Priory Club after reaching the final of the Nottingham Open on Sunday.

There she suffered a shock loss to Donna Vekic, and the world No 7 was in trouble again when she trailed 5-2 against Ukraine’s Tsurenko in the second set.

But Konta, who called the doctor early in the second set, won three games in a row and then took her third match point in the tie-break to win 6-3 7-6 (8/6).

Earlier, Petra Kvitova marked her return to her beloved grass with a 6-2 6-3 win over fellow Czech Tereza Smitkova.

The two-time Wimbledon champion took a wild card into the tournament after making a quickerthan-expected recovery from the serious hand injuries she suffered when she was stabbed by an intruder in December.

Kvitova, who next meets Britain’s Naomi Broady, was content with both her performance and the condition of her hand.

The 27-year-old suffered wounds to all five fingers, with nerve damage in two of them, and is still treading carefully.

She said: “We are still worried about the hand, so we are not practising that much. We still have days off to work on my hand, and it was very good today. So I’m happy with that the most.”

Meanwhile, Victoria Azarenka’s hopes of victory on her return to the tennis tour remain alive after her clash with Risa Ozaki at the Mallorca Open was suspended for darkness.

The former world No 1 is playing her first match as a mother after giving birth to son Leo six months ago.

Ozaki was leading 3-6 6-4 5-4 when Azarenka’s protests about the light were heeded and they must come back today.