Konta beats Pliskova to enter Shenzhen Open semis

Britain's Johanna Konta claimed a tough victory against Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-7 (11), 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Shenzhen Open tennis tournament here on Thursday.

The third seed encountered a big challenge from Pliskova in the second set, as the Czech fired seven of her match-total 15 aces to level the match after a breathtaking 13-11 win in the tie-break, reports Xinhua.

"I think it's a well-known fact that she has the best serve on tour. So I knew going to the match that I was gonna have very tough challenge on her service game. So I really just try to neutralise her service as much as possible and just try to get myself into those games, work very hard and try to get some chances," Konta said after the match.

The World No. 10 lost her two previous matches against Pliskova, but the Briton was determined not to let it happen again as she bounced back in the third set to seal the match with a 6-3 win.

In the women's doubles action, Raluca Olaru of Romania and Olga Savchuk of Ukraine entered the final as their last four opponents, top-seeded Raquel Atawo of the United States and Xu Yifan of China skipped the match due an abdominal strain on Xu.

"This tournament is over for me, as I have been struggling with an abdominal strain since the first day I came here," said Xu on Thursday.

"I will see how it is going for several days and then set off for Sydney."

--IANS

sam/vt