Konta win gives final thoughts

British number one Johanna Konta kept pace in her bid to reach the WTA Finals by advancing through to the third round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open in China.

Konta is 10th in the Road to Singapore, with only the leading eight qualifying.

After Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro and American Madison Keys, who are placed eighth and ninth in the rankings, both booked their place in the last 16, Konta followed suit with a 6-3, 6-3 win against home player Shuai Zhang.

Konta now has a golden chance to close the gap on Suarez Navarro, who is 273 points ahead, as they meet in the next round today.

Victory would ensure Konta gained a minimum of 85 points on her opponent, but with just two more tournaments until Singapore, the 25-year-old realistically has to go deep in Wuhan if she is to become the first British player since Virginia Wade in 1980 to reach the end-ofseason finals.

There was never any doubt about her victory in the second round as she upset the locals by dumping out the last Chinese player standing.

There were two breaks in the first set amid some flawless hitting as Konta ran Zhang ragged.

A closer tussle looked on the cards in the second set until Konta regained her range and saw the match out.

Konta remains on course to face Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the last eight after the world number one beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-4.

Johanna Konta