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
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.