Konta cruise as she bids to defend Miami title

DEFENDING a significant title is one of the few experiences left for Jo Konta and she responded admirably to the pressure last night. Faced with the seasoned Belgian campaigner Kirsten Flipkens the British No 1 took only 84 minutes to win 6-4, 6-3, playing with a confidence reminiscent of her best form. An early defeat here could see her ranking drop towards No 30 from its present position of No 14 but there was little evidence of nerves as she fairly cruised through with three breaks of serve. In the third round (having had an initial bye) she plays either another Belgian, Elise Mertens or American Bernarda Pera, who inflicted a shock defeat on her at the Australian Open. Konta came in with her form uncertain, carrying a 6-6 record for the season, with one quarter-final appearance the best showing. That was perhaps why she was placed only on Court One, the third arena at the soon-to-be-redundant Crandon Park. Yet she was positive from outset and should have gone up earlier than she did when creating five break points in the fifth game, failing to convert any of them. Instead of dwelling on the disappointment she held comfortably and then broke at the first opportunity for 4-3, serving out the set with ease. The serve has been a strength on her rise through the rankings these past two and a half years and its smooth functioning allowed the rest of her game to flow. Flipkens is a good athlete who plays squash-type recovery shots and she forced a break point in the next game, but was fended off as Konta’s ace count went up to eight. There was no need to serve it out at the end as she broke her opponent for a third time to complete the win. Earlier qualifier Liam Broady, the British men’s No 4, lost 6-3 6-2 in the second round to Filip Krajinovic of Serbia.