Johanna Konta reaches second round of Miami Open
Johanna Konta began her quest for a second Miami Open title with a straightforward 6-1 6-4 victory over American Jessica Pegula.
Konta who reached the third round at Indian Wells last week needed just 69 minutes to see off a spirited challenge from the world No 90 who had her battled her way through qualifying to reach the main draw.
However the British No 1, champion at Crandon Park during her stellar 2017 season, was able to come through relatively unscathed on her way to setting up a date with 18th seed Wang Qiang.
Konta was broken in her opponent's serve in the opening game, but roared back into action and denied Pegula another game as she claimed the first set.
Konta broke again as the second set got underway and that solitary break was enough to wrap up victory in just over an hour.
Meanwhile, last week's champion in Indian Wells, Bianca Andreescu, had to battle back from a set and match point down to beat Irina-Camelia Begu 4-6 7-6 (2) 6-2 and avoid a first-round exit.
The 18-year-old stunned the tennis world last week by winning her first career title at the Paribas Open and her battling triumph only underlined her status as a growing force
Bianca Andreescu won her first career title last week
"The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory," Andreescu told reporters. "I have gained a lot of experience from today, but hopefully I don't have to actually be down match point to win matches.
"Maybe I needed to almost lose to wake up. That's obviously what happened today. I'm really grateful for how I managed.
Only three women - Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka - have completed the 'Sunshine Double', winning both Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back, and Andreescu remains in the hunt.
Another teenager in the spotlight was Cori Gauff. The 15-year-old American also came from a set down to beat compatriot Catherine McNally 3-6 6-3 6-4 to claim her first WTA Tour level win and advance to the second round.
