Cool Konta’s playing the long game
AS we were saying before a wimbledon phenomenon called rain so rudely interrupted, Johanna Konta of eastbourne was nicely on the way to her first singles victory at wimbledon, and who knows where else?
The British No 1 took two days — or exactly one hour and 14 minutes of court time on either side of bad weather — to beat Monica Puig, no slouch at all.
As the Puerto Rican directed the final shot of the match into the net, Konta opened her mouth amazingly wide in a victory roar.
Then Konta clapped her racket in appreciation at a sadly patchy No 1 Court crowd wearing jumpers and coats to endure what we laughably call the British summer.
And so the 16th seed had whizzed into the second round and a contest against Canadian poster girl eugene Bouchard.
It had been a long wait after the suspension of the match in the fourth game of the second set on Tuesday evening, but Konta stayed relaxed. She spent the night half-watching Taken 2, an action thriller, but really just lolling on the sofa. She continued her ‘light-hearted’ mode of preparation as she waited yesterday for the rain to stop.
‘I enjoy eating so I did that slowly,’ she said. ‘I walked a bit. I went to the locker room. I lied down. I watched some TV. I joked about with the girls.’
when she stepped back on to the court at teatime yesterday there was a rollercoaster- style yelping of oohs and aahs wafting over from Henman Hill, where the happiest story of these Championships so far, Marcus willis, was getting whipped by Roger Federer.
Konta, of course, promises a longer involvement than willis in the fortnight’s festivities, as befits this season’s semifinalist in the Australian Open, the first British woman to manage such advancement in a Grand Slam for 33 years. If willis is pure theatre, Konta is a study of grooved organisation.
That characteristic is never more evident than in her service action: three high bounces of the ball and then two Winning smile: Johanna Konta KEVIN QUIGLEY lower ones, and then her back foot plants plenty of power into the movement itself. Nothing falls or drops an inch, nothing speeds up or slows down. Yes, she was a little rusty after the restart. But then, with her excellent backhand in good nick, she won 6-1, 7-5.
Rain was on the way and she just got home in time. Typical efficiency. ‘I just put the possibility of rain out of my mind,’ she said afterwards.
Konta’s elevation to the lady members’ locker room, as a seeded player, is entirely suitable as she continues to show her year-long dash up the rankings, from 126th to 19th, is not a fluke.
As well as her success in Melbourne, Konta reached the quarter-finals of the Masters event in Miami and the semis in her adopted home town last week.
‘I am most happy with my performance in this match,’ said Konta, 25. ‘It was quite gusty out there and we had been waiting some time so I was happy with how I coped.’
Her head mostly seems in the right place, as the phrase goes, hence her studied relaxation pre-resumption.
That is down to her mind-guru, Juan Coto, who has introduced breathing techniques and visualisation methods intended to keep her concentration sharper for longer.
Now Konta, who moved here from Australia to pursue her career, is starting to get better known by her rivals, her game is being more scrutinised. Her tricky task, therefore, is to hold on to the ranking points she has won.
But for now she looks as happy as the hunted as the hunter.