Johanna Konta wins in Connecticut Open first round against Laura Siegemund

British number one Johanna Konta continued her US Open preparation with a first-round win over Germany's Laura Siegemund at the Connecticut Open.

Konta, now ranked 46th, won 6-2 7-5 against the world number 146.

The Briton lost four points on serve in the opening set but had to dig deeper in the second before breaking to lead 6-5 and serving out the win.

She is the only British woman with direct entry into main draw of the US Open, which begins on 27 August.

Elsewhere in the final warm-up event before Flushing Meadows, Czech Petra Kvitova, who returned to the top five for the first time since October 2015 on Monday, beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1 7-6 (7-3).

However former world number one and 2016 US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova lost 6-1 6-3 to Russia's world number 49 Ekaterina Makarova.

Konta, 27, was the seventh seed at Flushing Meadows last year, but lost to unseeded Serb Aleksandra Krunic in the first round and has dropped down the rankings since.

However, the American hard-court season has given the 2017 Wimbledon semi-finalist a lift going into the US Open.

After inflicting a career-worst defeat on Serena Williams in San Jose, she beat Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko and Victoria Azarenka in Montreal.

Konta, making her first appearance in the main draw in New Haven, will play Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round.