No pressure as Konta shows she can stick around

ON THE half-complete No 1 Court Jo Konta gave a demonstration of why she is looking more and more a complete tennis player. In the now open air arena, still two years from its sliding roof being fully operational, the sixth seed cruised through with two identikit sets bringing her a 6-2, 6-2 win over Taipei’s Su-Wei Hsieh in 64 minutes. Wimbledon awaits the kind of deep run from her that she has managed elsewhere, but that did not appear to weigh heavily as she crouched down into her crunching groundstrokes on the slick new grass court. There was no negative reaction to the pressure that comes with her lofty seeding, and it was notable that those in the airy stadium not only know more about her this year but are more behind her. Konta said that while Wimbledon is important, it is not everything to her: ‘I’m entering every single event to do my best. That’s no different for Wimbledon,’ she said. ‘I play my career in a tennis season context, so I don’t live my career for this fortnight in particular. ‘That said, I definitely would like to be involved here for the full fortnight.’ Tomorrow she will try to go further than she has gone before at the All England Club by making the third round. To do that she must erase the memory of last month’s Nottingham Open final, as she faces a rematch against the winner that day, Croatia’s Donna Vekic. This match was a good omen, Konta avenging a surprise first round loss at the French Open five weeks previously, when Hsieh knocked her out. Paris raised a question that is sometimes asked about Konta, which is whether she has a Plan B, although she is not alone among the leading female players in that. This is all about her getting through a few early rounds and settling into the tournament. If she does that, she has shown that she can stick around.