Johanna Konta loses just two games en route to next round at Western & Southern Open; Dan Evans beaten
Big-hitting Canadian Milos Raonic blasts 23 aces in victory over Dan Evans; Serena Williams grinds out three-set win over Arantxa Rus
Monday 24 August 2020 23:17, UK
Johanna Konta breezed through her opening match at the Western & Southern Open but Dan Evans' hopes of a run in the event were dashed by Milos Raonic.
Just two weeks after suffering heart palpitations during a tournament in Kentucky, British No 1 Konta crushed Kirsten Flipkens 6-2 6-0 in the last 32 in New York, advancing in a near faultless display without facing a single break point in the match.
"I'm really pleased to have got a win," Konta said. "Obviously it's the first one since Monterrey, which was six months ago, a long time ago."
The 29-year-old was competing just a fortnight after she had to seek medical help during her first-round exit at the Lexington Open, in what was her first competitive match since lockdown began in March.
"I haven't gone for any more tests since then," she said. "I think they will happen more when I'm at home...
"Obviously I had two episodes reasonable close together, but before that I hadn't experienced in since 2018. So I think there is plenty of room to give it when it probably won't happen, knock on wood, for a long time again."
Konta will next face Vera Zvonareva after the veteran Russian rolled back the years to upset Laura Siegemund 6-1 6-1.
Dan Evans was beaten in straight sets by Milos Raonic in the second round of the men's tournament.
The 2016 Wimbledon finalist hit 23 aces on his way to recording a 6-3 7-5 victory against the current world No 28.
Evans had seen off 10th seed Andrey Rublev in the first round but failed to progress into round three - where a potential all-British meeting with Andy Murray had been on the cards.
Former world No 1 Murray, who battled his way to a hard-fought win over Frances Tiafoe on his first ATP Tour appearance since November, takes on Germany's Alexander Zverev later.
Serena Williams was forced to grind out a marathon three-set win over Dutch player Arantxa Rus 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 7-6 (7-0).
Williams needed to draw on all her experience and survival instincts to ensure she did not join them at the exit as Rus put the former world No 1 through a near three-hour workout.
"I thought I played pretty well. I was being aggressive and hitting good shots. She just kept fighting. I don't know, honestly," said 38-year-old Williams. "If I can do this, then whoa. I trained really hard. I was surprised I was tired, but it was really physical."
In other results, third seed Daniil Medvedev launched the defence of his title with a tidy 6-4 6-4 second round win over Marcos Giron.
The Russian world No 5 will next take on Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene, who was 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 winner over American Taylor Fritz.
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