Johanna Konta suffered a repeat of her Australian Open defeat to Bernarda Pera as she crashed out of the Madrid Open at the hands of the American. Pera, who is ranked 97th in the world, completed her straight-sets victory over the Briton in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Madrid, winning 6-4 6-3.
Home hope Carla Suarez Navarro is next up for Pera following her victory over Elina Svitolina.
Pera, who was at the Australian Open as a lucky loser when she beat Konta in January, saved all five break points she faced on her way to victory on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Konta has backed Andy Murray to make a swift recovery from surgery and return to the court in the coming weeks.
Murray's participation at Wimbledon has been cast into doubt after his recovery slowed and Konta said: "I still hope he can (come back as planned)."
"Obviously he needs to do what's best for the longevity of his career. I can really just feel for him. I can't imagine how sad he must be to be away from the game which he loves so much."
