Johanna Konta fails to cause an upset on Wimbledon debut

Johanna Konta could not cause an upset on her Wimbledon debut as she lost to 30th seed Christina McHale in a marathon encounter on Court 17.

Konta, who was born in Australia but received British citizenship last month, won the first set on a tie-break but lost the second and play was suspended at 7-7 in the decider at 9pm last night.

Konta, ranked 187 places below her opponent, had her serve broken in the third game today, and despite then setting up three break points of her own the Briton lost 6-7 (7/4) 6-2 10-8.

Konta, 21, is the third British woman to be knocked out in the first round after Laura Robson joined Naomi Broady in falling by the wayside today.

Britain's number five started the day well, winning her first service game, but a rain delay then forced the players off for just over an hour.

When they returned McHale held well and then had four break points, but Konta remained calm, firing off some solid returns to take the game back to deuce.

When she offered her opponent at fifth break point, however, McHale jumped at the opportunity, firing at Konta's feet, and she could not return over the net.

Konta mustered enough spirit to take McHale to 0-40 in the following game, but she wasted all three break points, her last effort a forehand that went way over the baseline.

A wayward backhand from Konta then sealed the win for McHale, who will now face Mathilde Johansson in the second round.

Yesterday Konta came back from the brink of defeat in the third set when McHale was serving for the match at 5-4 up, but her comeback ultimately proved short-lived after today's resumption.

PA