Defending champion Ana Konjuh out of Nottingham Open

Defending champion Ana Konjuh was forced to withdraw from the Nottingham Open with a back injury, while top seed Karolina Pliskova recovered from a set down in her first-round match.

Konjuh overcame Monica Niculescu in last year's final, but there will be no repeat this time around as it was confirmed she would have to pull out.

Meanwhile, Pliskova fought back from losing the first set against Anastasija Sevastova, moving through the gears in the latter stages to advance 6-7 (5-7) 6-0 6-2.

Pliskova raced into a 5-1 lead in the first-set tie-breaker, but world number 82 Sevastova hit back in style, reeling off six successive points to get ahead.

That was as good as it got for the Latvian, however, as Pliskova showed her class in sets two and three, breaking five times en route to victory.

She was denied a meeting with twin sister Kristyna, however, as her sibling was ousted 6-4 7-6 (7-4) by Anna Tatishvili.

Second seed and home hope Johanna Konta also advanced, 6-3 6-0 over Victoria Duval, while there were wins for Anett Kontaveit, Christina McHale and Zheng Saisai.