Johanna Konta crashes out of Shenzhen Open at semi-final stage

The British number one was beaten by Katerina Siniakova, who earned a 1-6 6-4 6-4 win

Johanna Konta was the highest seed left in the tournament (Getty)

Johanna Konta's hopes of beginning 2017 with a second WTA Tour title went up in smoke as she was beaten by Katerina Siniakova in the Shenzhen Open semi-finals.

Konta, the world number 10, would have been eyeing up more silverware as the highest seed left in the tournament but she did not count on a stunning performance from the world number 52 who earned a 1-6 6-4 6-4 win.

Such a result barely seemed possible after Konta breezed to the first set in just 22 minutes, dropping only 13 points.

But Siniakova, the Czech number four, beat Simona Halep earlier in the tournament and reproduced the goods with a range of power serving and baseline hitting.

A solitary break in the second set was enough to level it up, but her plight looked perilous in the decider as Konta had one foot in her third WTA final leading 4-2.

Katerina Siniakova showcased a range of power serving and baseline hitting (Getty)

But the 20-year-old showed her mettle by reeling off four successive games, including a love service hold, to clinch her first final on the tour where she will meet either Alison Riske or Camila Giorgi.

PA