Johanna Konta loses to Karolina Pliskova in Eastbourne semi-final
Friday 24 June 2016 22:01, UK
Johanna Konta's hopes of reaching the final of the WTA Eastbourne event were ended by a semi-final defeat to Karolina Pliskova.
Like most of the remaining field the British No 1, up to a career high of 18 in the world and seeded 16th for Wimbledon next week, had to play twice on Friday after Thursday's torrential rain.
And having booked her place in the last four with a win over Ekaterina Makarova, her challenge was eventually ended by 10th seed Pliskova in just over two hours.
Konta edged the first set in a tie-break before Pliskova fought back impressively with a dominant serve the key to a 6-7 6-3 6-3 success that underlines her potential as a serious contender for the Wimbledon title.
Earlier in the day Australian Open semi-finalist Konta, reached the last four with an impressive 7-6 6-4 victory over former champion Ekaterina Makarova 7-6 6-4.
Konta rallied after losing her opening service game against Makarova, who won the 2010 title - the Australian-born British number one, who stood 140th a year ago and reached the top 20 last week, hung on in a first-set tie-break before closing out victory in straight sets.
Opposite Pliskova in Saturday's final will be Dominika Cibulkova who stepped up her bid for a first grass court title by winning both of her matches at Devonshire Park.
The Slovak began the day by turning around a deficit of a set and a break from a rainy Thursday night to beat top seed Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6 7-6 6-3 in the last eight.
She then had just a few hours for an ice bath and lunch before warming up again for her semi-final where she hammered Puerto Rican qualifier Monica Puig 6-2, 6-1 in 72 minutes.
It's Cibulkova's fourth final of the year and she will be looking to add a second title having claimed her first in Katowice in April, while Pliskova won the title in Nottingham just a couple of weeks also on grass.
