Eastbourne tennis ace Johanna Konta is relishing a showdown with Petra Kvitova today after maintaining home hopes in the Aegon International.

The British No.1 and 11th seed faces fifth seed Kvitova in a mouthwatering clash in the last 16 at Devonshire Park following victory in straight sets yesterday against Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.

It is a repeat of their only previous meeting at the same stage of last year’s US Open, which Kvitova won 7-5, 6-3.

Konta, who has progressed to inside the world’s top 20 since then, said: “I’m really looking forward to it. She plays incredibly well on the grass. She’s a two-time Wimbledon champion, so I think her results speak for themselves.

“I’m happy I get to play against such a high-quality player. I will be looking to just give my best and we will see where that takes me.”

Kvitova knows the centre court crowd will be rooting for Konta as she attempts to reach the quarter-finals for the second year running.

The Czech star joked: “I hope that I will be able to find some fans who will support me as well!”

Kvitova is the second highest ranked player left in the Sussex showpiece after a day of shocks.

Defending champion and third seed Belinda Bencic tumbled out in straight sets against 2013 champion Elena Vesnina.

Second seed Roberta Vinci lost to 2010 champion Ekaterina Makarova and No. 4 seed Timea Bacsinszky was also beaten by Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic.