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No. 8 Venus Williams falls to Johanna Konta at Australian Open

Eighth-seeded Venus Williams fell to Johanna Konta at the Australian Open on Monday night.
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Eighth-seeded Venus Williams fell to Johanna Konta 6–4, 6–2 at the Australian Open on Monday night.

Konta, 24, is making her first appearance in the main draw in Melbourne, as she failed to qualify in each of the last three years.

The English international, who owns 11 singles and four doubles titles on the ITF tour, was a finalist for the WTA’s Most Improved Player award in 2015, after defeating world No. 2 Simona Halep at the Wuhan Open and recording 27 victories in 35 hard-court matches.

Williams, 35, had previously advanced to six Australian Open quarterfinals, while making the semifinals in 2001 and final in 2002. She had previously been defeated just twice in the first round in Melbourne in 15 prior appearances.

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Konta has never won or reached a WTA final in her career.

Following the loss, Williams did not attend her mandatory post-match press conference and will now face a fine of up to $20,000, reports Ben Rothenberg of The New York Times. Williams was fined $3,000 for skipping her press conference following her first-round loss at the French Open.