British No.1 Johanna Konta, has been knocked out of The WTA Dubai Championships by Russia’s Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 2-6.
Konta saved seven break points before winning the opening set, but the world no.24 managed to level up the scores, prevailing in a second-set tiebreak.
The match went on for just under three hours before the 20-year-old took the win. Konta will look at the 63 unforced errors she made as a deciding factor in the defeat.
Konta spoke to Sky Sports after the match: “I can really look back at this match and take the good things, because I did do a lot of good things, and learn from the things I can try to do better.
Not to lie I don’t feel amazing… at one point I was laughing, I did think we were playing two separate matches because she looked fresh as a daisy.”
The 26-year-old has three single titles to her name but after making it to the semi-finals last year at Wimbledon, she has won just two matches since.
Konta has confirmed she will be participating in the Nottingham Open, Birmingham Classic and Eastbourne International- all taking place in June.
Thank you to all the people out there who continue to support me, understand what process and growth is, and how it looks in reality. #keepworking
— Johanna Konta (@JoKonta91) February 22, 2018