MONTERREY, Mexico – Johanna Konta overcame a tricky opponent and gusty conditions to advance to the second round of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme, defeating Mariana Duque-Mariño 6-3, 6-3.

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The last time Konta played in Monterrey was back in 2014, when the then-No.120-ranked Brit fell in the second round of qualifying to Belinda Bencic.

But a lot has changed in the two years since that disappointing result. Building up confidence from her strong showing in 2015 and even better start at this year’s Australian Open, Konta needed just over an hour to book her spot into the second round.

Konta’s last match in Mexico was last week in the hot and humid Acapulco, but the conditions couldn’t be more different in Monterrey, which is located on the foothills of the Sierra Madre in the northeast. Konta and Duque-Mariño faced dry and windy conditions throughout their match.

“It was a tough match, the conditions changed within the match itself,” Konta said after the match. “There’s not much I can do about the wind, so it would be silly for it to bother me.

“It’s an external thing, so you’ve just got to deal with it.”

Konta showed signs of her famed emotional stability early on – she came up with two break opportunities against Duque-Mariño and despite being unable to convert them, she stayed cool to grab the third break point and go up 4-2 in the opening set. She kept up the lead, dictating the points with her heavy forehand and closing out the set 6-3.

The Brit felt more pushback from Duque-Mariño in the second set – Konta broke at 2-1 to get ahead but the Colombian’s crafty slices forced a pair of forehand errors to bring up break point. Konta buried her serve into the net and handed the break right back for 2-2. She went on to win four of the next five games, taking the match at 6-3, 6-3.

“I had a very competitive match against a very good player,” Konta said of her No.74-ranked Colombian opponent. “I had to compete really hard and really stay focused, I’m happy I came through in the end.”

Another Brit is also through to the second round at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme; No.84-ranked Heather Watson battled past Misaki Doi in a three-set thriller. She overcame a shutout in the second set tiebreak to win the match 6-4, 6-7(0), 6-3 after two hours and 47 minutes. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni advanced to the second round with a win over Tatjana Maria, 7-5, 6-4. No.6 seed Alison Van Uytvanck wrapped up the day’s action with a comfortable win over Irina Falconi, 6-4, 6-2.