KONTA’S BIT OF TRUE GRIT
Jo battles through the pain barrier
JOHANNA KONTA gave a show of true grit yesterday that Jose Mourinho would have been proud of.
The Manchester United boss spent much of last season lambasting stars in his squad for not battling through the pain barrier.
But Konta refused to be cowed after a nasty fall at Eastbourne on Thursday left her with pain in her upper back and put her Wimbledon campaign in doubt.
Sixth seed Konta shook off the injury on Centre Court as she eased her way into the second round with a smooth 6-2 6-2 win over Taipei’s Su-Wei Hsieh.
Hsieh had beaten Konta twice in their last three meetings.
Trouble
But cool and calm Konta never looked in trouble on Court One as Hsieh failed to test her fitness.
Konta certainly looked comfortable enough, serving at a healthy 109mph and breaking her opponent three times in the first set.
But she insisted after her victory that winning Wimbledon wasn’t the only thing that drove her on, with the British public yet to quite take her to their hearts.
She said: “I know we are in the unfortunate position when tennis is only on the map when we play this tournament.
“I don’t live it for this fortnight in particular, I live it for the whole season.
“That said I’d like to be involved for the fortnight to help put tennis on the map but I guess that Andy Murray has already done that.”
She did say though that she is getting used to being one of the bigger names in the women’s game at SW19.
“I do know which way to turn for the locker room and the showers for the top 16 in this tournament,” she added.
Konta beat Grand Slam winners Jelena Ostapenko and Angelique Kerber in one day at Eastbourne a week ago.
And she is a good outside bet for Wimbledon, adding: “I was happy with the way I was able to compete and I’m very happy to have come through that.
“She’s a very tricky player on any surface and I lost against her at the French Open so I was looking forward to playing her again.
“I feel well and after I hit yesterday I’ve been feeling pretty good. It’s a massive compliment for supporters to have such high expectations‚ and I’m working very hard to be at my best level but just taking it one match at a time.”
Britain has not had a women’s winner since Virginia Wade tasted glory 40 years ago and Konta reckons her Eastbourne exploits have boosted her chances.
“All the time I have accumulated on the grass can only help me,” she said.
Turning to her fall at Eastbourne, she added: “A huge part of it was the shock of it. I fell quite hard backwards on my head. I got winded a bit and was pretty sore through my body.
“Then it was just trying to continue through the match – I was fortunate there was only two more points – and then it was just about my recovery.”