Jo Konta survives terrifying collapse, goes on to win match in oppressive New York heat
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Updated 31/08/2016 at 20:43 GMT
Britain's Jo Konta was completely overwhelmed by the heat and humidity on the third day of the US Open in New York, collapsing towards the end of the second set.
Johanna Konta of Great Britain receives medical attention during her match against Tsvetana Pironkova
Image credit: Reuters
The match was halted for almost a quarter of an hour as she was tended to by medical staff.
And while she lost the second set, she recovered in staggering fashion against a clearly rattled Tsvetana Pironkova to win 6-2 5-7 6-2.
Konta had won the first set comfortably and was battling to make it into a tie-break for the second set against Pironkova of Bulgaria when she collapsed to the ground.
Medical stuff rushed to her aid as she collapsed to her knees on a day when the humidity was oppressive, despite temperatures actually being somewhat lower than they had been on Monday and Tuesday.
Ice packs were applied to the 25-year-old, who is ranked 14th in the world, and she eventually came back out onto court after 14 minutes.
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Johanna Konta of Great Britain receives medical attention during her match against Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria
Image credit: Reuters
As she did she faced a second serve on a break point against her, putting it into the net for a double fault which conceded the set - but gave her a further few minutes to regain her composure and energy.
It worked. Her level of tennis was not affected - indeed, she broke Pironkova in the first game of the third set - and she appeared to be managing her emotions and reactions carefully during the decider, coming through to earn a third round match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.
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Aug 31, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Johanna Konta of Great Britain hits to Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria on day three of the 2016 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Image credit: Reuters
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