Konta crushes Radwanska to win Sydney

SYDNEY - Johanna Konta made up for two previous losses to Agnieszka Radwanska with a 6-4, 6-2 win in the Sydney International final Friday. The dominating win came just three days ahead of the start of the Australian Open, where Konta was a surprise semifinalist last year. After hitting an attempted drop shot into the net on her first match point, she made no mistake on the second, sending an ace past the third-ranked Radwanska to clinch the match. “I made it very difficult for her to do much today,” Konta said. Radwanska agreed. “I can’t remember playing someone like this on that level, that consistent for the whole match,” Radwanska said. In men’s play, there won’t be a third consecutive title for Viktor Troicki after the Serbian player lost 6-3, 7-6 (6) to Gilles Muller in the semifinals. Troicki was trying to become the first player in the Open era to win three Sydney titles in a row, surpassing the feats of Pete Sampras, James Blake and Lleyton Hewitt, who did it twice. Muller was so sick last week in Brisbane he struggled to leave his hotel room. “When I came here, I wasn’t expecting anything because I didn’t play really well in Brisbane and I wasn’t feeling great,” Muller said. “I was looking to have one or two more matches before the Australian Open.” The sixth-seeded Muller’s final opponent will be Daniel Evans of Britain, who beat Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. It will be Evans’ first ATP final. In Auckland, New Zealand, Jack Sock will play Joao Sousa in Saturday’s ASB Classic final after both posted semifinal wins. Sousa beat Marcos Baghdatis 6-1, 7-5 while Sock defeated Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-3. Sock, who lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in the 2016 final, will play his sixth ATP final. At the Hobart International, Elise Mertens of Belgium beat fellow qualifier Jana Fett 6-4, 6-0 to advance to Saturday’s final against Monica Niculescu. Mertens beat top-seeded Kiki Bertens in straight sets in the quarterfinals Thursday. Earlier, Lesia Tsurenko withdrew from her semifinal match against Niculescu, handing the Romanian a walkover to the final. Belgians sweep Kooyong titles In Melbourne, Belgians secured a trophy double at the Kooyong Classic on a rainy Friday as David Goffin was crowned champion for the second-straight year and Yanina Wickmayer joined him as a title winner. The 11th-ranked Goffin backed up his 2016 trophy, winning a final reduced to one set 7-6 (7-2) over Ivo Karlovic on a day of rain interruptions. Wickmayer beat Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-4, with both finals shortened to get play completed. Women were competing at the Australian Open tune-up for the first time in more than two decades. Earlier, Frenchman Gilles Simon got what he described as a taste of home as he overcame drizzle to defeat Bernard Tomic for a third-place finish. In a contest also played over one set, he won 6-3. - Agencies