Attack by Humphrys stirred my British spirit, says Konta
MOST of the country seemed fairly impressed with Jo Konta’s achievement of reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals this summer, with the exception of John Humphrys.
Two days after The Championships, Radio 4’s Today programme host gave her something of a grilling, incorrectly asserting that she was born in Hungary and questioning her Britishness.
Konta diplomatically reminded him that she had lived in the UK for half her life, was a British citizen and that she felt very much British.
Now, as she prepares for the US Open, she reveals how she was taken aback at his aggressive questioning.
‘I think he forgot that I wasn’t a politician,’ she said ahead of her firstround match against Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic. ‘The interview ended and I looked over at Vicky [Brook, her agent] and it was like “that was a bit bizarre”.’
Asked whether any apology was made at the time by producers of the programme she replied: ‘I think a few people did apologise because it did go down an angle that wasn’t intended but it happened. I was keen to move on, it was my first interview of the day [she was doing a tour of BBC studios].’
Konta is one of eight women players who could end this final Grand Slam of the year as world No1.
She made the point that, while the women’s winner is not easy to predict, it is not perhaps the free-for-all that is sometimes suggested in the absence of the pregnant Serena Williams.
‘We don’t have a big four but we have a big 10,’ she said. ‘I think it’s a great thing that there are incredible battles from the first round, and that was showcased at Wimbledon.’
It is a fair observation, and that will certainly be the case in the plum firstround tie that pits second seed Simona Halep against Maria Sharapova.
Since gatecrashing April’s WTA event in Stuttgart after her 15-month doping ban expired, it has all gone awry for Sharapova. She was beaten by Eugenie Bouchard at the Madrid Open and has since struggled with injury.
‘I haven’t had the best preparation to be honest, the tournaments I was supposed to play at I had to withdraw from, so that’s disappointing,’ Sharapova said. ‘The body said “we aren’t ready for you”. I’m coming here without any matches but I have experience of that.’
The US Open, especially keen for marquee names amid all the withdrawals, was always likely to break from the French Open and Wimbledon by offering her a main draw wildcard.
The concern for the Russian is that her struggles to keep her body together under competitive strain will not get easier now that she is past 30.