Konta needs to find her feet after a tumble
JOHANNA KONTA’S tennis veers from the very good to the quite alarmingly horrid. And yesterday it was horrid.
She lost to Bernarda Pera, the Croatian-born American world No123, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round of the Australian Open. Pera played well but Konta had a stinker of a day – and she knew it.
Twice she tumbled over and landed on her backside, twice she went for an overhead and fluffed it spectacularly. The first attempt ended up with the ball dribbling down her racket frame and landing at her feet and the second, on match point, sailed towards the stands. It really was not a good day at all.
“I just didn’t play great,” said Konta. “It’s a part of tennis. It’s a part of everyone’s career.
“I battled and I competed. I just didn’t play well enough to be able to earn that third set and try to earn my way out of the match.
“But when you have match fitness, you are able to come through those difficulties you find in every match.”
Match fitness is the elusive goal for Konta as the season builds up a head of steam. She did not win a match between August and October in 2017 and then she ended her year one month early due to a foot injury.
What she desperately needs is a decent run of matches so that she can get into a winning groove again. But, as the world No9, she is a valuable scalp for the lower-ranked players to claim and they come to the match court swinging freely with nothing to lose.
“It is especially tricky in the ranking bracket that I’m in because you will come up against girls on a consistent basis who are inspired to be playing you,” she said.
“So it’s a really great problem to have but it’s also something I’m looking to take in my stride and keep working on. That comes with volume of matches. And also coming through tough matches.” It was a blistering hot day in Melbourne with the ambient temperature hitting 39C while the on-court temperature was well in excess of 50C. Even so, it was not quite hot enough to trigger the Extreme Heat Policy. To suspend play or cause the roof to be shut over the three main show courts, the ambient temperature must hit 40C with a few other calculations regarding humidity thrown in for good measure. By the time Novak Djokovic got on court to face Gael Monfils, the heat was stifling – and Djokovic was losing. Fortunately for the six-time champion, Frenchman Monfils could not cope with the conditions and, feeling dizzy and jittery, he could not stop Djokovic from triumphing 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3. The world No14 was happy to win but he was distinctly unhappy that the tournament made him play in the blast furnace of the Rod Laver Arena with the roof open. “I think there is a limit,” he said. “And that is a level of tolerance between being fit and being in danger in terms of health.” As for his own limits, he knows them well enough. After six months away from the tour with an elbow injury, he is still feeling his way back. “I had the nervous start,” he said. “I just have to accept it, embrace it, hope for a better day tomorrow and next match.” Roger Federer, playing in the slightly more forgiving evening temperatures of 31C, wasted no time in dismissing the muscular but wet-behind-the-ears challenge of Jan-Lennard Struff from Germany 6-4, 6-4, 7-6.