Konta’s shot at glory
British No 1 through to her first WTA grass-court final
The clay-court travails of Johanna Konta can be forgotten, until next year at least. Swinging freely on a surface she is far happier with, Konta swept past Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova in Nottingham yesterday to reach her first WTA grass-court final.
Having played superbly over the first three months of the year, Konta lost four out of six matches during the European clay-court swing. The dip was not wholly surprising though, as she has yet to master the sliding movement that is so crucial to the surface.
While Konta has also struggled at Wimbledon, the WTA event at Eastbourne – where she has lived for most of the past decade – has been a different story, with runs to the semi-finals last year and the quarter-finals the previous season. This is the form that Konta has replicated on her first visit to Nottingham. She plans to play all three grass-court build-ups before Wimbledon, and the only concern must be that she does not overtax herself.
In London, meanwhile, the world’s most volatile and talented young player, Nick Kyrgios, was on hand yesterday for the Queen’s Club draw. The ceremony yielded an intriguing first round for top seed and defending champion Andy Murray, who will play the Slovenian-born Briton Aljaz Bedene on Tuesday.
In Paris last month, Bedene caused consternation when he hinted that he might consider a reversion to his original nationality to earn a chance at playing in the Tokyo Olympics. A day later, he tried to withdraw the idea yet did not rule it out completely.
As for Kyrgios, he said that he had recovered from the low spirits that had affected him through the clay-court swing, partly as a result of the loss of his grandfather, Christos. “It was tough after my grandpa passed away and for a month afterwards I didn’t want to do anything,” said Kyrgios. “He watched every single one of my matches, even when he was sick. He was probably one of my No1 fans.”