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Montreal: Konta denied Top 10 spot by qualifier Kucova

Ros Satar
Tennis

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By Ros Satar

  • Kristina Kucova [Q] def. Johanna Konta [15] 6-4 6-3
  • Misses her chance this week to become first British woman to break the Top 10 in 32 years
MONTREAL, CANADA – British No. 1 Johanna Konta saw her seven match winning streak come to the end at the hands of qualifier Kristina Kucova.

 

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From one fairytale run to another, Kucova is embarking on her own similar match-winning spree in Montreal as she ended Konta’s bid to crack the World Top 10.

Having ousted home crowd favourite Eugenie Bouchard to reach the quarter-finals, Kucova nailed her first straight sets win since coming out of the qualifying rounds. Since then the Slovakian has had to claw her way through the rounds from a set down – until now.

As the errors racked up from Konta, Kucova passed up on a chance to break the Brit a second time for a one-set lead, and Konta promptly gained a break back to put things back on serve, and maybe nerves contributed a little, as the Slovakian took another four set points to finally take the lead.

A single break in the second set was enough of an advantage to hold on to. Try as she might, Konta could not make good on any of the break point opportunities she got in the second set, even saving a match point before the qualifier sealed a straight sets win to reach just her second tour level semi-final. She reached the semi-finals in Bucharest in 2014, losing to Roberta Vinci 6-1 6-3.

 

What next for Konta?

Of course this is not Konta’s last chance to make the Top 10. She will be heading to Rio before being on the schedule for the WTA Premier in Cincinnati and she is also on the players’ list for New Haven before looking to go better than her breakthrough fourth round run last year at the US Open.

She has now erased the question mark of being in the Top 20 without a title, and a place in the Top 10 will surely come, but for now the old records remain intact.

Konta is set for a new career high of No. 13 when the new rankings come out on Monday.

Kucova will face Madison Keys for a place in the final on Saturday.