Tuesday 26 August 2014 15:28, UK
British No 2 Johanna Konta bowed out of the US Open after being beaten 6-2 6-3 by Shahar Peer in the first round.
Konta had qualified for the tournament via her ranking for the first time but was unable to defeat a player who sits 37 places below her in the WTA standings.
But Israel’s Peer has a strong pedigree in the game having once been ranked as high as 11th in the world.
And Konta was unable to make any inroads into her opponent’s solid game, a tally of 15 winners and 34 unforced errors for the 23-year-old telling its own story.
Konta had a chance to get back on serve in the second set when Peer slipped to 15-40 when serving for the match, but she could not take advantage and Peer went on to complete the win.
"It didn't go the way I wanted it to," said the 23-year-old. "I had my chances and I just wasn't able to capitalise on them. It was frustrating but she played tough in those points. I felt I gave it my best today and that's all I can do.
"It's great being direct acceptance and I've very much enjoyed that here and at Wimbledon. But I definitely want to be getting deeper into these tournaments.
"I've had a lot of changes come my way this year, a lot of personal things. I just need to keep working hard and trust that the results will come."
Konta was playing only her third match in more than a month after recovering from a right wrist problem.
She said: "That's all fine now. It's my third match back so I need to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully that shouldn't take too long.
