I’m almost there, says Konta

JOHANNA Konta believes she is 90 per cent of the way to rediscovering her best form after a first-round defeat by Petra Kvitova at the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham.

Konta paid the price for her drop in ranking by drawing the defending champion and lost a close contest 6-3 6-4 to bring an end to British interest in the singles after Heather Watson was beaten 7-6 (7/2) 7-5 by Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.

“I think for 90 per cent of the match I was shoulder to shoulder with her, which was a very positive thing for me,” said Konta. “That 10 per cent is what I’m working on right now to be able to do just that bit better and to come through in some of those close moments.”

Konta has now lost her last six matches against top-10 players dating back to her quarter-final victory over Simona Halep at Wimbledon.

She said: “I won’t be kicking myself. I did a lot of good things, which is more what I want to be taking from the match.

“She puts a lot of pressure on you when she’s returning and she has a very big presence, so I think that’s also credit to her and how she was returning.”

It was a similar story for Watson against a player who had never previously won a match on four visits to Edgbaston Priory.

Watson won their last meeting on grass at Eastbourne 12 months ago but it was Tsurenko, ranked 37 to her opponent’s 86, who had the better of the big moments.