Konta beaten by Doi in Italian open
British number one Johanna Konta has been beaten in three sets by Misaki Doi in the Italian Open third round.
Konta, 24, took the opening set but went down 4-6 7-5 6-2 in Rome to her 25-year-old Japanese opponent.
Doi, ranked 45 in the world, belied her position 22 places below the Australian Open semi-finalist to take victory.
Meanwhile, top seed Serena Williams also reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (9-7) 6-1 win over fellow American Christina McHale.
Williams will play ninth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova – who beat fellow Russian Daria Gavrilova 6-2 2-6 6-3 – in the last eight, while Doi faces Swiss Timea Bacsinszky.
Despite her defeat, Konta will arrive at the French Open as a seeded player. A year on from being ranked 143rd in the world, she is up to 23.
“I thought she played a very, very good level today and I didn’t do quite enough to get her out of her comfort zone,” Konta told BBC Sport.
“I’ll be going straight to Paris from here. I’ve never played a full WTA schedule before and I’m enjoying it, trying to improve every single day and most importantly keeping myself healthy.”