Thursday 20 September 2018 15:26, UK
Johanna Konta let a big lead slip away as she was beaten by Donna Vekic in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
The British number one's fragile confidence again came to the fore as, having led 4-1 in the second set with a double break, Konta lost six of the last seven games to go down 6-3 7-5.
Croatian Vekic, who shocked fifth seed Sloane Stephens in the first round, struggled on serve in the first set but Konta was unable to take advantage and dropped her own serve twice.
The 27-year-old looked to have turned things around in the second set, cutting out the errors and establishing a seemingly-decisive lead.
But nerves were evident as Vekic pulled back from 4-1 to 4-3 and Konta was broken to love attempting to serve out the set. She then missed more chances for another break, her forehand breaking down completely, before Vekic broke again to claim victory and set up a quarter-final with French second seed Caroline Garcia.
Camila Giorgi once again frustrated Caroline Wozniacki on a hard court as she beat the defending champion 6-2 2-6 6-4.
The Italian has now beaten the Australian Open champion in each of their three hard-court meetings and will next face former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka for a place in the last four after the Belarusian wildcard eased past seventh seed Ashleigh Barty 6-4 6-2.
Czech eighth seed Barbora Strycova fought off Estonian Anett Kontaveit 7-5 (7-5) 3-6 7-5 in a see-saw battle that lasted just over three hours and will face US Open champion Naomi Osaka for a place in the semi-finals.
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Tennis is back on Sky Sports screens with the Laver Cup in September while we will also have coverage of the ATP Finals in November with every match live on Sky Sports.
