Hard work paying off for Konta

IN-FORM world No9 Johanna Konta yesterday said she is seeing her hard work pay off as she targets a deep run at the Australian Open.

Konta, named the WTA’s most improved player for 2016, is now a serious threat at this year’s opening Grand Slam after beating world No3 Agnieszka Radwanska to win the lead-up Sydney International on Friday.

The Sydney-born Briton, 25, has blossomed over the past two years, crediting her transformation with a new mental attitude honed with mind coach Juan Coto, who died suddenly in November.

It helped her last year become the first British woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since 1983 in an eye-catching performance at Melbourne Park, where she was making her debut.

“Obviously, to have beaten a player like Aga, I’m definitely very pleased with the level I played,” she said, ahead of her Australian Open first-round clash against Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens on Tuesday.

“But we all know that it’s not a given. It doesn’t decide how you will do in the next event.

“I’m taking it as a positive from the week itself, but I’m looking to again work hard here and really try to do the best that I can here.”

Konta has shot up the rankings since 2014, when she was ranked 150 in the world and struggling to make ends meet after stepping up from the ITF circuit.