Konta opens door to top 10 with Keys victory

Konta will face either Agnieszka Radwanska or Elina Svitolina in Sunday's final.

Published : Oct 08, 2016 20:18 IST , Beijing

Johanna Konta celebrates her victory over Madison Keys.
Johanna Konta celebrates her victory over Madison Keys.
lightbox-info

Johanna Konta celebrates her victory over Madison Keys.

Johanna Konta will become the first Briton in 32 years to be ranked inside the WTA top 10 after beating Madison Keys on Saturday to reach the final of the China Open.

Konta, an Australian Open semifinalist at the start of 2016, is guaranteed to move inside the top 10 when the latest rankings are released on Monday.

The last British woman to achieve such a feat was Jo Durie, while Konta's 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Keys provides a significant boost in her bid to make the WTA Finals in Singapore.

Keys, who is also well-placed to feature in the end-of-season showpiece, was comfortably beaten in the tie-break that decided the opening set.

Yet she fought back to draw level, despite Konta saving five set points at 2-5 and then carving out three chances to break again at 4-5.

Both players dropped serve at the beginning of the decider, but there were to be no further break points until Konta got to 0-40 with Keys serving to stay in the contest.

The American saved one match point, but then netted a forehand to bring proceedings to an end. Konta will face either Agnieszka Radwanska or Elina Svitolina in Sunday's final.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment