Johanna Konta dumped out of Australian Open after first round defeat to Ons Jabeur

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Joe Krishnan21 January 2020

Johanna Konta has been knocked out of the Australian Open first round after losing in straight sets to Ons Jabeur.

The British number one failed to take advantage of key break points in a tight first set before being broken by the 25-year-old in the 10th game.

And the Tunisian, ranked 78th in the world, showed an impressive range of groundstrokes in the second set to seal a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the 1573 Arena in one hour and three minutes.

It's Konta's worst performance at the Australian Open for five years when she was a qualifier and failed to reach the main draw.

Melbourne had been a happy hunting ground for 12th seed Konta in 2016 when she reached the semi-finals, but since then had followed up with second-round defeats in her last two visits.

In Pictures | Australian Open 2020

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And she started slowly out on court as Jabeur showed her aggression and willingness to mix up her play, with her dropshots proving to be a deadly weapon.

After nine consecutive service holds, Jabeur made the breakthrough in the 10th with a stunning backhand pass to seal the set 6-4 at the first time of asking.

Konta produced an immediate response, breaking in the first game of the second but crucially allowed Jabeur to break back instantly.

And from there she never looked back, nailing down the double break to highlight her superiority as Konta struggled to hit her shots with any kind of venom or accuracy, with 16 unforced errors and only eight winners.

To add more misery to the defeat, Jabeur cleaned up with a break to love with three set points and a crestfallen Konta was heading back home after a disappointing display.

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