Tennis – Australian Open – First Round – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 21, 2020 – Britain’s Johanna Konta shakes hands with Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur after their match. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – British number one Johanna Konta tumbled out in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday with a comprehensive 6-4 6-2 defeat at the hands of Tunisia’s world number 78 Ons Jabeur.
The 12th seed, clearly not yet match fit on her return from a knee injury that cut short her 2019 season, went down in just over an hour on number one court in a match washed out on Monday by rain.
A semi-finalist at Melbourne Park four years ago and Roland Garros last year, Konta sprayed 19 unforced errors and struggled to hold her serve throughout the contest.
Jabeur, who beat Konta in two sets at Eastbourne last year, secured her fourth break of serve to win the contest when the Briton overcooked a backhand return.
The Tunisian will next face Madison Brengle or Caroline Garcia.
Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford
