Konta off to a winning start at Eastbourne

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London, June 24: Johanna Konta made her home advantage count as she eased into the second round of the Eastbourne International.

British number one Konta, an Eastbourne resident, made light work of qualifier Dayana Yastremska 6-2 6-4, as her preparations for Wimbledon got back on track.

Konta, a beaten semi-finalist at Roland Garros, suffered a surprise defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in the second round of the Birmingham Classic in her last outing.

But the world number 19, making her seventh consecutive main-draw appearance at Eastbourne, where she was a beaten semi-finalist in both 2016 and 2017, put in a measured performance, and will face Maria Sakkari in the round of 32.

If Konta overcomes Sakkari, the 14th seed will meet Ashleigh Barty in the third round, should the French Open winner and world number one – who claimed the Birmingham title on Sunday – beat Evgeniya Rodina or Ons Jabeur.

Konta will be joined in the second round by Stuttgart Open finalist Anett Kontaveit, who came from a set down to beat wildcard Harriet Dart 3-6 6-4 6-2.

While Konta enjoyed a comfortable passage through, fellow Brit Heather Watson was not so fortunate, as she went down 7-5 6-2 to Alize Cornet.

Pauline Parmentier, Elise Mertens and Andrea Petkovic were among the other winners on Sunday.