Miami, April 2 (IANS): British tennis star Johanna Konta used her superior firepower to claim a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Caroline Wozniacki in the Miami Open final.
The victory on Saturday was the 10th seed’s first at one of the four WTA Premier Mandatory events, which are among the biggest tournaments in women’s tennis, reports Efe.
The 25-year-old Australian-born Konta was aggressive throughout the match and especially imposed her presence on her return games, earning six service breaks and winning more than half of Wozniacki’s overall service points.
She notched three of those breaks in the first set, the last of which came in the ninth game when the Dane committed a double fault.
The British player maintained her intensity at the start of the second set and did not allow the Dane to pull off a repeat of her semifinal match on Thursday, when she rallied from an early deficit against second-seeded Czech Karolina Pliskova to win 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.
With Konta firing forehands and backhands toward the corners, the writing was on the wall for the expert retriever, who saved seven of 10 break points in the second set but finally succumbed to defeat in just over one hour and 35 minutes.
“It was really important for me to straightaway assert myself in the manner I wanted to play just so I had it clear in my head and give myself the best chance of executing what I wanted to tactically,” Konta was quoted as saying on the WTA’s website.
Wozniacki has been one of the most consistent players in women’s tennis in 2017, but she once again had no answers for an in-form opponent with a bigger array of weapons.
“I tried to fight. She played really aggressively. She played well. You know, I kind of gave the game away at 4-all in the first set, and then missed a couple break points at 4-5. Those are the ones that you need to take if you want to win a match like this,” the Danish former No. 1 said.
