LONDON: Britain’s Johanna Konta beat Zhang Shuai of China 6-2, 6-1 in the Nottingham Open final on Sunday, becoming the first British woman to win a tournament on home soil in 40 years. The 30-year-old, who had not won an event since the Miami Open in 2017, had only won three matches in 2021 before this week.
Fouth-seed Zhang was her toughest opponent of the tournament but Konta put the Chinese player to the sword, dropping just three games.
It was third-time lucky for Konta, who had lost in two previous finals in Nottingham. She became the first British woman to win a tournament in Britain since Sue Barker in Brighton in 1981. “It’s quite an amazing stat,” said Konta, ranked 20th in the world. “One person gets to win the tournament at the end of the week, so the odds aren’t in anyone’s favour really,” “It’s hard to win tournaments, so that’s why I felt very grateful. To do it in front of a home crowd on the grass, it’s an experience I haven’t had yet and I’m really grateful to be having right now.”
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