Great Britain's Johanna Konta shocks Andrea Petkovic at Wuhan Open

Great Britain's Johanna Konta has defeated world number 17 Andrea Petkovic 6-4 7-5 in the first round of the Wuhan Open in China.

The first set proved a scrappy affair as the Eastbourne-based 24-year-old saw her serve broken twice, but her German opponent fared worse with three broken service games.

Similarly, the second set was somewhat topsy-turvy, but Konta managed to get the best of Petkovic in an evenly-contested affair to clinch her 19th win in 20 matches since losing to Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon.

Konta's victory against Petkovic means that she is set to become the new British number one if Heather Watson fails to beat Serbia's Jelena Jankovic on Monday.

Up next for the Sydney-born athlete is Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the second round of the competition.