Today's third round match between Johanna Konta and Belinda Bencic (seeded 24) is scheduled for the second match on the Grandstand court. This will be to toughest match of the tournament so far for Johanna Konta and I hope that she doesn't suffer from heat exhaustion again. Although Belinda Bencic is currently ranked 26th, back in February she was 7th and last year she had some big wins at tournaments including beating Serena Williams.

No news on Heather Watson though she was back practising and is scheduled to play this afternoon in the first round of the women's doubles. She's not playing in the mixed doubles so there won't be a repeat of Wimbledon.

Heather Watson must have recovered enough as she's been playing in the first round of the women's doubles with Michaella Krajicek (Netherlands) and they've just beaten the 9th seeds Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears of the USA. Michaella Krajicek is the much younger (by 17 years) half sister of Richard (who was the Wimbledon champion in 1996).

Britain's Johanna Konta produced a commanding display to beat Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-1 and secure her place in the US Open fourth round in New York.

Konta, showing no sign of the health issues that affected her during the second round, brushed aside the Swiss 24th seed in 52 minutes.

Konta served with pace and accuracy from the start to keep 19-year-old Bencic on the back foot and a run of seven unanswered games gave her complete control.

She did not give away a single break point, won 19 out of 20 points on her first serve and hit 29 winners to her opponent's nine.

"I feel overwhelmingly happy," said Konta, who faces Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova in the next round.

"I felt I did a good job playing the match at hand and I focused all my energies into this match. I was happy how I dealt with things."

Konta had collapsed on court in her previous match and needed almost 15 minutes of treatment before feeling able to continue.

"I'm still recovering in every way," she added. "I think it was quite a traumatic experience. I'm just still working on getting better."

Some very satisfying results for UK players, male and female, at Flushing Meadow this week.

The match between Johanna Konta and Anastasija Sevastova is the first one on the Arthur Ashe stadium today so a 16.00 start time.

British number one Johanna Konta has been knocked out of the US Open in the fourth round by Anastasija Sevastova.

The 13th seed lost 6-4 7-5 against the Latvian world number 48.

Konta fought back to 5-5 from 4-1 down in the second set and saved two match points, but was finally undone as Sevastova broke serve to win.

Sevastova, who retired in 2013 before making a comeback, will play eighth seed Madison Keys or Caroline Wozniacki in the quarter-finals.

Playing in the first match of the day on Flushing Meadows' showpiece Arthur Ashe court, Konta struggled to impose herself in tricky conditions with half the court in bright sunlight and the rest shaded by the arena's new roof.

Her serve - usually among her most potent weapons - failed to make much impression on the dogged Sevastova, delivering only one ace and a return of just 45% of the points when she landed with her first attempt.

Sevastova made the faster start to both sets, breaking Konta at the first time of asking in each.

The 26-year-old also kept in control of her emotions as they threatened to bubble over to secure her first appearance in the last eight of a Grand Slam at the third time of asking.

Heather Watson, after a break, is back in action in the Wuhan tournament in China. She's won the two qualifying stages so is through to the main draw where she plays Madison Brengle (ranked 70).

Johanna Konta plays Annika Beck.

BBC article written since my posting yesterday:

Heather Watson says she has fully recovered from the illness that affected her US Open campaign.

Watson, 24, beat China's Chang Liu, and Samantha Crawford of the United States in back-to-back matches on Saturday to qualify for the Wuhan Open.

It was the British number two's first singles appearances since requiring medical treatment following her US Open defeat by Richel Hogenkamp last month.

"I got the blood test results and they're all fine," she said.

Guernsey-born Watson initially feared she had suffered a relapse of glandular fever - which affected her in 2013 - after struggling in heat and humidity against Hogenkamp at Flushing Meadows.

"I just think it was a mixture of things, maybe stress and anxiety and the heat is always a factor," said Watson, who added her medical report showed she was "very healthy".

Sounds as if Heather Watson spoke too soon. No details yet but she had to quit during the match this morning aganst Madison Brengle early in the second set after a bad first set.

BBC now has details.

Heather Watson was forced to pull out of her opening match at the Wuhan Open with illness just days after saying she had fully recovered from the problems which affected her US Open campaign.

The British number two withdrew against American Madison Brengle in China after complaining of dizziness.

British number one Johanna Konta comfortably reached round two after beating German Annika Beck 6-1 6-2.

Ninth seed Konta will play China's Zhang Shuai in the second round.

Konta needs a strong result in the tournament to pass American Madison Keys and Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in the race to qualify for the WTA Finals later this month, which features the season's top-eight players.

Guernsey-born Watson, 24, was suffering from a stomach bug when trailing her opponent 3-6 1-2 in mid-30C temperatures before pulling out on Monday.

"It came on this morning. I woke up in full sweats. I went out there to see how I feel but it wasn't great," said Watson, who also named John-Laffnie de Jager as her new coach on Monday. Watson has been without a mentor since splitting with Diego Veronelli earlier this year.

"I was getting goosebumps on the court and that is the worst feeling, especially when it is hot," she added.

"It is frustrating, especially because I had a couple of matches under my belt and I was starting to feel good on court, so it is a shame this happened but there is nothing I can do."

Watson called for a medical time out after losing the opening set and a doctor was called onto court to take her blood pressure.

Britain's Johanna Konta beat Zhang Shuai of China in straight sets to reach the last 16 at the Wuhan Open.

Konta, seeded 11th, won 6-3 6-3 and goes on to face Spanish seventh seed Carla Suarez Navarro in round three.

Another victory would see the 26-year-old Briton match last year's run to the quarter-finals in Wuhan, China.

Konta remains on course to face Germany's Angelique Kerber in the last eight after the world number one beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 6-4.

Britain's Johanna Konta boosted her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals with victory over Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro at the Wuhan Open in China.

Konta, seeded 11th, beat the seventh seed 7-5 7-6 (8-6) to reach the quarter-finals for the second time.

She also closed the gap on Suarez Navarro in the Race to Singapore, with the Spaniard in the eighth and final qualifying place, two ahead of Konta.

The Briton will play Czech 14th seed Petra Kvitova in the last eight.

Kvitova knocked out world number one Angelique Kerber 6-7 (10-12) 7-5 6-4 in an epic contest that lasted three hours and 19 minutes.

American Madison Keys, currently ninth in the WTA Finals standings, is through to the last eight along with fourth seed Simona Halep, and ninth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat Venus Williams 6-2 6-2.

Konta held her nerve in a tight contest to overcome Suarez Navarro, edging the first set with the only break of serve and seeing off six set points as she fought back to take the second.

"I was fully prepared to obviously play a third if need be," said Konta.

"I really just tried to be brave and just play the way I wanted to play throughout the whole match, and those points as well."

The Eastbourne-based 26-year-old made the running in the early stages but could not make the breakthrough until the 12th game when Suarez Navarro netted a backhand to give up the set.

The Spaniard grew stronger in the second, twice going a break up and moving 5-3 ahead, but she was unable to capitalise.

Konta played superbly under pressure, saving three set points as she clung on in a game of eight deuces, and then recovering from 6-3 down in the tie-break.

"I thought we brought out a lot of good tennis in each other," she said.

"Whenever one of us dropped off a bit, the other one was always there. Yeah, it was a really tough battle and I really enjoyed being a part of it. It definitely was a lot of fun.

"I think I would be in the wrong profession if I didn't desire to be a part of such battles. I enjoy it. It makes me better as a player, as a person, as a competitor."

The victory sees Konta match last year's run to the last eight as a qualifier, before she eventually lost to Venus Williams.

A dent in Johanna Konta's hopes of qualifying for the WTA finals with her being beaten by Petra Kvitova today (Kvitova winning 6-3, 6-4).

Britain's Johanna Konta banished memories of her US Open defeat by Anastasija Sevastova as she swept past the Latvian at the China Open.

Konta lost to Sevastova in New York last month but dominated in Beijing, winning 6-1 6-1 and dropping just two points on her first serve.

She goes on to face Hungary's world number 25 Timea Babos in round two.

Heather Watson lost the first round in the qualifiers a couple of days ago. Apart from the mixed doubles win at Wimbledon it's been a disappointing year for her. She does now have a new coach in place which should be a help but there has to be concern over her health, not that anything has been found.

British number one Johanna Konta boosted her hopes of reaching the WTA Finals in Singapore by beating Hungary's Timea Babos in straight sets to reach the China Open third round.

The World number 14 won 7-5 6-2.

The 25-year-old will next face either Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic or Russia's Daria Kasatkina.

Konta is currently ninth in the race to Singapore. The top eight qualify for the tournament, which takes place from 23-30 October.

She could also break into the world's top 10 for the first time and join Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and Jo Durie as the only Britons to achieve the feat on the WTA Tour.

British number one Johanna Konta reached the China Open quarter-finals by beating world number six Karolina Pliskova for the first time.

Konta, ranked 14th, saw off the Czech 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-2) in a rain-delayed match in Beijing.

Konta, 25, led 4-1 when the players were forced off, returning to win the first set in just 23 minutes on court.

Pliskova levelled after converting her seventh break point, but the Briton recovered to win a final-set tie-break.

She will face either fourth seed Simona Halep or home favourite Zhang Shuai in the last eight.

The gutsy victory, completed in two hours and seven minutes, maintains Konta's hopes of reaching the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore.

She is 11th in the standings, with only the top eight qualifying for the tournament, which takes place from 23-30 October.

Konta could also break into the world's top 10 for the first time if she continues her run at the China Open.

She would join Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and Jo Durie as the only Britons to achieve the feat on the WTA Tour.

Johanna Konta's quarter final match is against the home favourite Zhang Shuai later today.

British number one Johanna Konta recovered from losing her first two service games to sweep to a 6-4 6-0 win over China's world number 36 Zhang Shuai in the China Open quarter-finals.

The 25-year-old was 4-0 down in the opening set, but won the final 12 games to deflate Zhang in front of her home fans.

Konta also recorded a straight-set win over Zhang at the Wuhan Open last week.

She will play American eighth seed Madison Keys in the semi-finals.

I think she will need to beat Madison Keys to have a realistic chance of qualifying for Singapore. Even then she's stiill behind on ranking points. Of course if she were to win the tournament then she may have got enough points to qualify.

There is also the point that Serena Williams did not play in this tournament due to injury. So although she has qualified for Singapore it's possible that she may not be able to compete.

British number one Johanna Konta has reached the final of the China Open by beating Madison Keys 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 6-4.

The win means Konta becomes the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1984 to break into the world's top ten.

The 25-year-old took the first set after a tie-break before American Keys fought back in a semi-final lasting two hours, 35 minutes.

Konta will face Ukraine's Elina Svitolina or Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in the final.

I work out that if Johanna Konta wins the final she'll be 6th in the race to Singapore (and probably qualify) , if she loses she'll be 9th 42 points behind Madison Keys in 8th.

British number one Johanna Konta was overpowered 6-4 6-2 by world number three Agnieszka Radwanska in the final of the China Open.

Konta, 25, was chasing the biggest title of her career but unravelled against the Pole after a battling first-set display.

The 11th seed, who has made the world top 10, fought back from 4-2 but could not make it 5-5 after missing a volley.

Number three seed Radwanska's quality proved too much in the second set.

Turns out that Johanna Konta is now in 8th place in the road to Singapore rankings tabe, 10 points ahead of Dominika Cibulkova. This week Cibulkoba is in the Linz tournament as 2nd seed whereas Johanna is on Hong Kong as 3rd seed. Both tournaments have an equal number of points so she will have to fo better than Cibulkova to remain ahead.

British number two Heather Watson progressed to the second round of the Hong Kong Open with a straight-set win over qualifier Marina Erakovic.

Watson beat the New Zealander, who is 44 places below her in the rankings, 7-5 7-6 (11-9) at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium.

The Briton, 24, will next play former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, who earlier beat Saisai Zheng of China.

The match between Johanna Konta and Naomi Broady is in progress, Johanna has won the first set 6-2 and had broken serve in the second.

Johanna Konta beat compatriot Naomi Broady 6-2 6-2 in one hour and 19 minutes, setting up a tie with Wang Qiang of China.

British number one Johanna Konta has withdrawn from the Hong Kong Open because of an abdominal strain.

The world number nine pulled out of the tournament shortly before her second-round match against Wang Qiang.

Konta currently occupies the final qualifying position for the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore.

But the 25-year-old, the first British woman in the top 10 since 1984, could be overtaken by Dominika Cibulkova if the Slovak makes the Linz Open final.

"I was really looking forward to making this week last as long as possible. It wasn't as long as I would have liked, but I need to look after my body first," said the Briton.

"I need to make sure I make the right decisions for my health."

British number two Heather Watson has been beaten 6-3 6-3 in the Hong Kong Open second round by former world number one Caroline Wozniacki.

Watson, ranked 75 in the world, was on the back foot when her serve was broken in the fifth game of the first set.

She fought hard but the 26-year-old Dane, ranked 53 places higher, won in an hour and 25 minutes.

British number one Johanna Konta is set to miss the season-ending WTA Finals.

Konta will not play on the tour this coming week, having pulled out of this week's Hong Kong Open through injury.

Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova beat Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 6-3 to reach the final of the WTA event in Linz, Austria on Saturday.

However, the world number nine could be given a reprieve if American Serena Williams, who is currently second in the race to qualify, withdraws.

Williams, 35, has not played since the US Open in September.

Konta, who would have been competing in the WTA finals for the first time, withdrew from the Hong Kong Open with an abdominal strain shortly before her second-round match against China's Wang Qiang.

British pair Naomi Broady and Heather Watson lost 6-3 6-1 to Chan Yung-jan and Chan Hao-ching in the doubles final of the Hong Kong Open.

Broady and Watson struggled to make an impact in their first final as a pair with the top seeds from Chinese Taipei winning in just over an hour.

It is the Chan siblings' third trophy of the year.

"I want to thank my partner," Broady, who reached the women's doubles third round at Wimbledon with Watson this year, told BT Sport.

"We've been best friends since we were about nine years old so to arrive at a final together on the same side of the net is just awesome, and I really enjoyed playing with her."

Serena Williams has pulled out of the WTA finals which may mean that Johanna Konta (9th in rankings) gets the final place though she's not playing this week through injury. However she will be overtaken in the rankings if Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro or Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, 10th and 11th in the rankings respectively, win the tournament in Moscow.

Johanna Konta can only be overtaken by Svetlana Kuznetsova in the race to qualify for the WTA Finals, after Carla Suarez Navarro's hopes ended in Moscow.

Suarez Navarro could have overtaken Konta by winning the Kremlin Cup but she retired in the second round.

Konta remains in line to take the last place at the eight-player season-ending event, but the Briton is not competing this week as she recovers from injury.

Kuznetsova, who also needs to win the title, beat Alize Cornet 6-4 7-5.

The Russian, who is the defending champion, will play Kristina Mladenovic or Timea Babos in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Konta, 25, is eighth in the Singapore standings following the withdrawal of world number two Serena Williams, but it is not clear whether the Briton would be fit to play should she qualify.

Svetlana Kutnetsova has reached the final of the Kremline Cup. If she retains the title she will clinch the last place for the WTA finals. Is she loses, Johanna Konta will. She's fit again and is in Singapore hoping that it's her.

British number one Johanna Konta has won the WTA's most improved player of the year award for 2016.

Konta, 25, reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January before going on to win her first WTA Tour title at Stanford in June.

Ranked world number 147 in June 2015, Konta climbed to a career-high position of ninth earlier this month and is currently in 10th place.

Germany's Angelique Kerber won the WTA player of the year award.

The world number one won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open, and went on to pick up a second at the US Open. She also won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics and lost in the Wimbledon final to Serena Williams.

Konta's record of seven victories over a top-10 player this season is the second-most of any other player on tour.

She became the first British woman to reach the top 10 of the world rankings since Jo Durie achieved the feat in 1982.

Konta is currently leading the race for a place a the WTA Finals in Singapore, occupying the final qualification spot, but will be overtaken by Svetlana Kuznetsova if the Russian wins Saturday's Kremlin Cup final against Daria Gavrilova of Australia.

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller:

"At the start of the year, the question was not whether Konta could become a top 10 player, but whether she could consolidate her position in the top 50.

"Reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open was a fabulous achievement, but it has been her consistency throughout the year - and in many of the big tournaments - which has particularly impressed.

"She is a strong player, but by no means the most powerful: her success has stemmed from doing the basics to an exceptionally high level in highly pressurised situations.

"Her top 10 status is thoroughly deserved."

2016 WTA player award winners in full:

Player of the year: Angelique Kerber (Ger)

Doubles team of the year: Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic (Fra)

Most improved player of the year: Johanna Konta (GB)

Newcomer of the year: Naomi Osaka (Jpn)

Comeback player of the year: Dominika Cibulkova (Svk)

British number one Johanna Konta missed out on a place in the WTA Finals after Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Daria Gavrilova in the Kremlin Cup.

Kuznetsova's 6-2 6-1 victory in Moscow ensured she took the eighth and final tournament spot.

Konta, who is in Singapore with the rest of the finalists, did not play this week due to an abdominal injury.

The Australian-born 25-year-old, ranked 10th in the world, will compete if any player withdraws.

Britain's Johanna Konta has beaten France's Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China.

The 25-year-old will face Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the last four after winning in exactly one hour.

Czech Republic's two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova takes on China's Zhang Shuai in the other semi-final.

"I felt I played a very consistent match. I didn't give her many windows [of opportunity]," said Konta.

The tournament features the leading 12 players who did not qualify for last week's WTA Finals in Singapore.

The players were divided into four pools of three, with the group winners qualifying for the semi-finals.

Top seed Johanna Konta lost 2-6 6-1 6-4 to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals of the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China.

The Briton took the first set comfortably, but lost the initiative in the second and then let a lead slip in the deciding set.

Konta, 25, looked increasingly weary in the final event of the WTA Tour season.

Anne Keothavong has been appointed as Great Britain's Fed Cup captain and senior national women's coach by the Lawn Tennis Association. She succeeds Judy Murray.

The former world top-50 player, who won 21 singles ties in the Fed Cup, will work alongside head coach Jeremy Bates.

"I'm delighted and honoured to accept this position in the sport that I love," said the 33-year-old.

British number one Johanna Konta said Keothavong was "a winner on court" and will lead from "real life experience".

Great Britain's Fed Cup campaign begins with the Euro/Africa Zone Group in Estonia in February.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38168708

Johanna Konta has parted company with one of her two coaches Esteban Carril. Also she is trying to come to terms with the sudden death 3 weeks ago of her mental coach Juan Coto.

The Hopman Cup at Perth, Australia, starts on January 1st. It's the opening tournament for the 2017 season. 2 players from 8 countries in 2 groups. Round robin basis for the groups, 1 men's singles, 1 women's singles and 1 mixed doubles. The winners of the two groups play in the final (no semi-finals in this 1 week tournament),

The British team is represented by Heather Watson (who is the regular choice for the Hopman Cup) and Dan Evans for the first time, previously it was Andy Murray.

Britain's opponents are Switzerland, France and Germany. Roger Federer is the best known participant.

As reported in the news Petra Kvitova (one place below Johanna Konta in the year end rankings) was injured in a knife attack by an intruder at her home and had to have surgery on her playing hand. She will be out of action for at least six months but is expected to be able to play again.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38393955

I wish her a speedy recovery.

As she is out for at least six months she should be able to apply for protected ranking to be able to get into the main draw of tournaments for the earlier of the first 9 tournaments (excluding direct invitaion and wildcard entry) or 9 months from the date of the first tournament she plays in. (If she were to be out for over 12 months then it's 12 rather than 9).