Nottingham Open: Konta takes quarterfinal spot, Watson loses battle of Brits

Nottingham, June 11: Johanna Konta kept up her hopes of winning the Nottingham Open for the first time as the British number one beat Kateryna Kozlova to book a quarter-final berth.

Top seed Konta had to bounce back from a disappointing second set to claim a 6-2 1-6 6-3 win over the Ukrainian, and will now face Alison Van Uytvanck in the last eight.

The 30-year-old Konta, who has twice reached the final of this event, split from her coach following a disappointing first-round exit from the French Open.

In Nottingham, she will be joined in the last eight by Katie Boulter, a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 winner over fellow Briton Heather Watson.

Alison Riske, the American second seed, could be Boulter's next opponent. Riske was required to play twice on Thursday, firstly when completing a match against Wang Xiyu that began on Wednesday.

Following that gruelling 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-3) win, which secured a first WTA singles victory for Riske since last year's US Open, the 30-year-old returned to the court against compatriot Lauren Davis and they were tied at one set each when play was suspended for the day.

Third seed Donna Vekic slipped to a 6-3 6-4 defeat against Nina Stojanovic, who will play Tereza Martincova next.

The other quarter-final will see Kristina Mladenovic – a winner over Caty McNally – take on Zhang Shuai.