Johanna Konta beats Karolina Pliskova in China Open
Thursday 6 October 2016 16:27, UK
Johanna Konta beat world No 6 Karolina Pliskova in three sets to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open.
The British No 1 came through a rain-delayed third-round tie 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-2) to keep alive her hopes of making the season-ending WTA Tour finals in Singapore.
Konta sits 10th in the standings after her latest win, with just the top eight to qualify, and also retains a chance of breaking into the world's top 10 in Beijing.
The 25-year-old had not beaten this year's US Open finalist in five attempts heading into the match but raced through the opening set in just 23 minutes, discounting time lost to a rain break.
Pliskova, who converted just three of 13 break points over the course of the match, took the second 6-3 to level but was blown away in the deciding tie-break.
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Next up for Konta is a last-eight meeting with Zhang Shuai of China who defeated Simona Halep, the fourth seed, in straight sets 6-0 6-3.
Konta has played Zhang, the world No 36, four times, recording three wins. Their previous meeting was at last month's Wuhan Open, where Konta won in straight sets adding to her victory in the 2016 Australian Open..
World No 1 Angelique Kerber is out after losing 6-3 7-5 to Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, whose quarter-final opponent will be Australia's Daria Gavrilova.
