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Johann Konta’s efforts brought her to victory at the US Open Tuesday. Saving six set points in the opening set against Heather Watson, the British number one went on to defeat her compatriot 7-6(7), 6-1 on Court Five at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.
The two met three times in the past with their last meeting in Nottingham where Konta won a third over her fellow compatriot. Despite not being able to play on grass this season, the two Brits had their time to play with Konta getting the best out of it. At the Western and Southern Open, the 29-year-old reached the semifinal for the first time in four runs but missed against the resurgent Victoria Azarenka. Despite the defeat, it put her in quite a position as the ninth seed to do well in her eighth US Open and take care of business.
Watson was first to take point and held Konta to a point in the opening game. The ninth seed followed suit with a similar hold in the second that led to a comfortable run for both of them. Through the next four games, Konta and Watson held service games, keeping them deadlocked. The seventh was a gamechanger as Konta forced deuce on Watson’s serve. They spanned seven breaks in a 12-minute ordeal that saw Watson hold off Konta’s threat.
The 29-year-old leveled at four all but made a push in the ninth for her attack that awarded her with the break. Konta served for the set but couldn’t lock it down as Watson forced the set deeper earning the break back. She held in the 11th putting pressure on Konta to hold serve and force a tiebreak. A double fault put the ninth seed in trouble but back to back errors from Watson forced deuce, opening up another shot. She gained the first AD point and fired a crosscourt winner that brought a tiebreak into play.
Watson gained the edge on the sixth point with a minibreak and scored a forehand winner later on to lead 5-3. The 28-year-old got within set point but Konta answered with back to back points making it 6-5. A hesitation by Watson caused another point to fade away bringing Konta to a six-all situation. After six set point attempts from Watson, Konta earned her first that clinched the victory to lead the match with s 9-7 win that took 75 minutes.
The effort needed to bring the opening set to a conclusion brought a force into Konta that saw her get a grip of her opponent. She opened with a service hold and followed it up with a late break of serve. Watson found herself down 3-0 with the need to regroup on service in the fourth. She couldn’t get herself dug in as Konta dictated her game and scored the double break. A breeze through her service game gave her a 5-0 hold to serve for the match with Watson serving to stay alive.
Keeping an edge on the ninth seed, Watson tried to put an end to the sixth but on game point, Konta moved her opponent out of the way to force deuce. Another opportunity slipped away for Watson who erred on the second break giving Konta her first match point. A hard drive crosscourt attempt went into the net for the 29-year-old who saw the finish line a little too close. Watson responded with a terrific placement in the court that allowed her to strike a shot that her compatriot couldn’t get to.
With the shutout behind her, the ninth seed continued to eye victory and being on serve, the free points from Watson gave her three match points. Konta ended things on court with a return landing long to finish in 1 hour and 48 minutes.
In a great show of force late in the match, Konta moves into the second round where she’ll face Sorana Cirstea next.
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