?? Nature Valley Open, Nottingham R1 Preview
?? (4) Johanna Konta vs. ?? Kurumi Nara
Johanna Konta begins her Nottingham campaign with an opening round clash against Japan’s Kurumi Nara. This is Konta’s time to shine, after a mediocre start to the season the Britt will be hoping she can capture the form that saw her reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year over the next month and push back up towards to the top 10.
Konta made it to the final in Nottingham last year where she was upset by Donna Vekic in the final, Konta will be keen to go a step further in 2018. Konta has an exceptional record on grass over the last few seasons, a 25-11 win/loss record on grass over the last 3 seasons. Expect Konta to be one of the main title contenders in Nottingham.
Kurumi Nara avoided the clay court swing and has spent the majority of her time at the ITF level in recent months. It will be interesting to see what Nara can achieve as the tour moves to more advantageous surfaces for her over the next few months.
This has been a very successful match-up for Konta. The Britt holds a 6-1 head-to-head record over Nara. The most recent match between the pair took place earlier this year in a Fed Cup tie, Konta won comfortably in straight sets.
Leave a Reply