British number one Johanna Konta lost her opening match of the Battle of the Brits on Monday, going down to little-known Jodie Burrage.
Burrage defeated a listless Konta 6-4, 6-3 to help the Union Jacks notch up a point on day one of the competition. This edition of the Battle of the Brits is a team event in which the Union Jacks are playing the British Bulldogs.
However, the British Bulldogs fought back to go 9-4 up on the points tally at the end of the day’s play.
Also Read:
Burrage, ranked 293rd in the world, has been playing in some of the tournaments organized by the LTA, and had been in sizzling form too.
Ranked seventh in the British women’s rankings, Burrage said:
“It feels amazing to win against such a great player. I feel overwhelmed. I was surprised how I played. When I found out I was playing her I was nervous and didn’t want to get hit off the court.”
“This morning I was excited to get out there and swing. I didn’t have any pressure.”
[the_ad id=”14063″]
She reached the final of the British Tour competition early in July before winning seven matches in a row in the second edition of the same tournament. And then on the Progress Tour, Burrage reached the final where she was beaten in three sets by Katie Boulter.
Some of the other results included another surprise loss for Dan Evans, who went down to Cameron Norrie but Kyle Edmund, Emma Raducanu, Heather Watson, and Aidan McHugh all won their matches.
Later Jamie Murray and Watson were stunned by Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart in the mixed doubles section in three sets, with the latter winning 7-5, 3-6, 10-8.
Interestingly, Konta later revealed she wouldn’t be playing at the Palermo Open either, joining Romania’s Simona Halep in pulling out of the competition.
Be the first to comment