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Johanna Konta didn’t let anything bother her at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Thursday. The Brit dealt with the delays and struggles to move into the third round, defeating Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-1 on Banque Nationale Court. Konta had seven double faults in her victory but recorded just enough winners that got her moving on at the IGA Stadium.
Both ended their runs in the quarter-finals at San Jose on the same day and made up for it by getting a solid start in Montreal. The Belarusian had the best outcome playing Kristina Mladenovic, whose game never got started.
It gave Azarenka an easy breeze into the second round where she faced Konta for a third time. They had met back in Miami, where she beat the Brit before going on to win the title.
Azarenka came out scoring the first game to her name with Konta following suit in the second. She had a better start than the Belarusian, who committed a double fault in the third but held her end. They went on holding serves through six until Konta found a way to rally on gaining control with a strong first serve.
She took the next three in a row that gave her the set win after 39 minutes. Konta had ten winners in her success while keeping the unforced errors minimal against Azarenka, who had moments of struggle.
It followed her into the second set which gave the Brit a free pass through the opening two games. Konta gained a third on the hold of serve before rain fell that ultimately brought the match to a halt for the day.
When they resumed play the next day, Azarenka came out attacking but faltered twice on errors that gave Konta a double break chance. She got it by changing up the cross court rally that saw the Belarusian return the ball wide.
It was soon 5-0 for the Brit scoring a serve to love that had her putting the noose around Azarenka, who was on the edge of a quick defeat. Despite fighting the wind on serve, the 29-year-old etched out her first win of the set, hoping to bring together more.
Konta didn’t let that happen as she brushed off the double fault, achieving match point, but made mistakes that forced deuce with the Belarusian. A second double fault in the game for Konta gave Azarenka chances but she couldn’t put them away.
After four breaks, the number one Brit got the job finished in 1 hour and 23 minutes.
With the brisk finish to the second part of the match, the 27-year-old would focus on Elina Svitolina, who is standing as her next opponent in their bout later on Thursday.
