Johanna Konta only played seven games in 2021 and won three of them
British number one Johanna Konta started her clay court campaign by defeating Julia Putintseva in the first round of the Madrid Open.
Konta, who finished 15th in this event, defeated Putintseva from Kazakhstan 6: 4: 6: 2 and was only her third win of the year.
The Brit missed Britain Billie Jean King Cup play-off tie against Mexico this month to prepare for the clay court swing.
She will play either Anastasija Sevastova or Ana Bogdan next.
Australia’s world number 1 Ashleigh Barty took her 12th straight win on red sand with a 6-26-1 win over Shelby Rogers of America.
The fourth seed Elina Svitolina wasted six match points when she was stunned by Jil Teichmann from Switzerland.
The Ukrainian Svitolina missed a 5: 1 lead in the decisive set when Teichmann came through 2-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5).
The Briton Cameron Norrie defeated the Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez and reached the quarter-finals of the Estoril Open.
Norrie fought for the victory for three hours with 4: 6, 7: 6 (7: 1), 7: 5 and met the second seed Cristian Garin from Chile.
