KONTA STUNS MERTENS IN KREMLIN CUP

Johanna Konta of Britain upset seventh-seeded Belgian Elise Mertens in the first round of the Kremlin Cup on Tuesday. Making up a 30-place rankings gap to the 14th-ranked Mertens, Konta took full advantage of Mertens’ wayward serving to win 6-3, 7-5. Konta next plays Australia’s Daria Gavrilova. French players Kristina Mladenovic and Alize Cornet and Russian veteran Vera Zvonareva all won their firstround matches. In the first round of the men’s draw, fifth-seeded Nick Kyrgios beat Russian Andrei Rublev, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Belarusian qualifier Egor Gerasimov ousted sixth-seeded Damir Dzumhur — last year’s champion in Moscow — 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2. Another former champion, Andreas Seppi, beat eighth-seeded Martin Klizan, 6-1, 7-6 (6). /