JO MAD FOR IT
Konta: I’m fit for a fight
A YEAR ago, Jo Konta was the woman to watch at the start of the Australian Open.
A semi-finalist in Shenzhen, the champion in Sydney, she was the form player as she came to Melbourne and it took Serena Williams at her ferocious best to beat her in the quarter-finals.
Fast forward to this year and Konta, the World No.9, is feeling her way back to match fitness after missing the last four weeks of last season with a foot injury.
The good news is that she feels physically fine on the eve of the Open and now she just needs to get her game firing on all cylinders.
Konta said: “I’m working through the challenges that I faced at the end of last year.
“I’m trying to really just get back in the match routine of things, trying to get back to the level I want to be playing consistently.
“I’m hoping that I can play my way into it, try to stay here as long as I can.”
Her first challenge is Madison Brengle, the American World No.92, who has a 3-1 winning record over the Brit.
Konta admitted ahead of her Tuesday opener: “Her game style is definitely a tricky one to play.
“She’s incredibly tough in the way she competes, the amount of balls she’s able to get back. I’m going in preparing for a difficult match.”
However, the first Brit on court tomorrow is Kyle Edmund. The British No.2 faces South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.
Novak Djokovic has had six months off with a mystery elbow injury – he refuses to say exactly what is wrong – and knows any match he plays is likely to be tough.
Still not 100 per cent sure that he will play, the six-time Australian champion is trying to sound upbeat about his chances. Djokovic (left) said: “I still know what I’m capable of, and I believe in my own abilities to win against the best players in the world. “Whether my approach is different to this year’s Australian Open than previously, probably yes. It’s different circumstances. But it is exciting.”
Rafael Nadal, the bookies’ second favourite for the title behind defending champion Roger Federer, is also on the comeback trail.
His notoriously fragile knees gave out at the end of last year and he comes to Melbourne having not played a match since November.
He cast a doubt on his participation when he announced: “We are here to try my best, try to see if I am able to start.”