British number one Johanna Konta missed out on a first WTA final by losing her semi-final against Karolina Pliskova 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-3 at Eastbourne.
Konta, 25, edged a tie-break in the first set, but the quality of the Czech's relentless serving told.
Hometown favourite Konta had beaten 2010 champion Ekaterina Makarova 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 earlier in the day in a rain-delayed quarter-final.
Konta is seeded 16th at Wimbledon and plays Monica Puig in the first round.
| Match stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Konta | Pliskova | |
| 5 | Aces | 12 |
| 1 | Double faults | 5 |
| 74% | First serve percentage | 65% |
| 66% | First serve win percentage | 75% |
| 56% | Second serve win percentage | 57% |
After defeats in the second rounds of the Birmingham and Nottingham grass-court events, Konta's run to the last four provides valuable preparation ahead of her arrival at the All England Club as the first British female seed since Jo Durie in 1984.
It was also one better than last year's run to the quarter-finals as the world number 146.
Since then though Konta has risen into the world's top 20 and her frustration at being unable to break down world number 17 Pliskova was clear in her on-court discussions with coach Esteban Carill.
The Briton's failure to convert three break-back points from 0-40 up in the fifth game of the second set proved costly as Pliskova served out and she never recovered after losing her first two service games in the decider.
