Miami Open: Johanna Konta finds form to beat Pauline Parmentier and reach last 16
Britain’s Johanna Konta rediscovered her best form as she thrashed Pauline Parmentier of France in straight sets to reach round four at the Miami Open.
Konta, seeded 10th, took charge from midway through the first set to win 6-4 6-0 in 63 minutes.
She next faces American eighth seed Madison Keys or Lara Arruabarrena of Spain for a place in the last eight.
In the men’s doubles, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares beat Paolo Lorenzi and Joao Sousa 6-0 6-3 in round two.
Angelique Kerber, Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal are among those in action later on Sunday.
Men’s third seed Milos Raonic of Canada withdrew ahead of his match against Jared Donaldson with a recurrence of a hamstring injury, saying: “It was not possible to compete today without putting myself at significant risk.”
Konta, 25, had struggled for form since reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals in January, and had needed two hours and 40 minutes to beat qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich in her opening match in Miami.
In less windy conditions on Sunday, the British number one found the rhythm on both serve and return that has seen her rise dramatically up the rankings in the last two years.
The first six games went with serve as Parmentier’s big serve kept her in touch, but when Konta converted her third break point for a 4-3 lead it sparked a brilliant burst of form from the Briton.
Konta dropped just five points in the second set, and only seven points on serve in the entire match, as she powered through.
She is now one win from at least matching last year’s run to the quarter-finals, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka.