Jo growing into champ
JO KONTA is revelling in a new-found maturity as she bids to go further than ever before at the US Open.
The British No.1 faces third seed Karolina Pliskova today for a place in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.
Konta, who has reached the semi-final of every other Grand Slam, is the last Briton standing in the singles after winning through to the fourth round in New York for the third time in her career.
And if she qualifies for the quarterfinals she will become the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1983 to reach the last-eight of all the Slams.
The No.16 seed has defeated Czech Pliskova only once in seven previous meetings and lost out to the big server in the final of the Rome Masters in May.
However, Konta is adamant her game has improved significantly since after swatting aside Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-2 in only 71 minutes to set up the Pliskova showdown.
The 29-year-old said: “I’ll be going into the match with good tolerance and I also like to think I’ve grown as a player since Rome.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how I can do better, maybe ask some better questions this time around. More than anything it’s probably in my decision making and also how or when I play certain shots.
“I’m enjoying the whole thing more and perhaps that’s the evolution of my career. Obviously, I’d like to do even better at Slams but I’m definitely pleased to have made it to the second week of my last three Slams. That’s a really good achievement.
“There isn’t necessarily any specific magic click or pill, but I definitely feel I’ve been giving myself every opportunity possible to get better and grow.”