Kvitova, Konta play tennis across Birmingham canal

In a tournament hindered by dreary weather, two WTA stars rose above the moroseness to try something that's never been done before. Petra Kvitova joined Great Britain's No. 1 Johanna Konta in hitting some balls across the Birmingham canal, as boats casually cruised by:

They begin with modest attempts at hitting balls into buckets across the water, before moving over to the real deal, and both enjoyed the experience.

"I never thought I’d be hitting balls across canals," Konta said. "So that was pretty cool."

Konta's is scheduled to open her Birmingham campaign against Misaki Doi, while Kvitova will play Jelena Ostapenko in her second-round match.

The biggest upset so far has come at the hands of recent 's-Hertogenbosch champion CoCo Vandeweghe. The American took out top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in a match that took two days, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

In other completed matches on Wednesday, Christina McHale and Carla Suarez Navarro advanced, while No. 4 seed Belinda Bencic fell to Irina-Camelia Begu.