NOW JO CAN BE A WORLD BEATER!
Konta out but she’s on charge for top 10
Jo Konta was reaching into her psychology manual after losing in the australian open semifinals to make sure she has no emotional over-reaction to the disappointment.
‘this last fortnight, I haven’t really been going “Woo!”’ she pointed out.
‘there isn’t really much danger of me dipping that low after this. Like I’ve mentioned before, I do strive to stay on that medium wavelength.’
If Konta does react to her 7-5, 6-2 defeat against angelique Kerber it ought to be in the way that she looks back on it and gains belief that she could reach the top 10.
Such is the state of women’s tennis below Serena Williams at the moment, and so much has the British no 1 improved, that she should be aiming high.
Kerber is a very good player but to look at her serve was to wonder how she has managed to be a fix- ture in or around the top 10 for the past four years. It is unthinkable that in men’s tennis you could get so near the top with a weakness so ripe for exploitation.
You shudder to think what Williams, a 6-0, 6-4 victor over fourth seed agnieszka Radwanska, might do to it in tomorrow’s final.
there seems no reason why Konta could not go considerably higher than the ranking of 28 she will receive when the new listings come out on Monday.
She has relatively few points to defend until the grass- court season, so the high-level tournaments that she can enter in the next couple of months — in Monterrey, Indian Wells and Miami — are great opportunities for her to head towards the top 20.
But Konta did not want to get carried away in the other direction either. ‘nothing is guaranteed, so let’s not be under the false assumption that just because I’ve done this it’s going to continue,’ she said.
‘there are always going to be ebbs and flows in everyone’s career, including my own, so I’m looking forward to the new challenges that arise.’
Former Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade, who Konta was hoping to emulate by reaching a Slam final final, believes the 24-year-old24 year old can stick around.
‘I think Johanna will be able to reproduce it,’ said Wade, analysing for Eurosport. ‘It’s important for her not to just look forward but to stabilise at this level so she doesn’t lose to people she should beat. It will be tough, her higher ranking will now get her into harder tournaments.’
Konta’s immediate challenge is deciding whether she is up for playing for Great Britain in the Fed Cup next week in the Israeli resort of Eilat. It sounded like the idea of scrambling back to play in the European zonal group round-robins was not the most appealing.
‘My intentions are still to go,’ she said. ‘obviously I need to see how my body recovers, how my health is, and then I will make the decision. I don’t feel fresh as a daisy. I definitely need some good R&R.’
It could be that she said this in the aftermath of a draining two weeks that will have sapped her physically and mentally. or it could be that she is contemplating her first controversial move since becoming a star of British sport.
the scheduled travelling squad under Judy Murray has already been trimmed by the absence of Laura Robson, who will stay in america and play smaller tournaments in her latest comeback.
Whenever she gets back home Konta will find that life has changed, and not just because she earned prize money of £375,000 (including her doubles cheque).
She said that the money will be ‘re-invested in my career’, rather than blown on any material treat, although she does not own a house at the moment.
‘I’ve already spent so much money on flight change fees, I think that’s good enough,’ she joked of her unexpectedly long stay in the Victorian capital.
She could leave with her head held high having shown that reaching the fourth round of the US open last year was not a one-off.
a real dividend will be that she should be seeded at the next two Grand Slams at least. the last Brit- ish woman to be seeded at a major was Robson at the 2013 US open.
the match against Kerber was not especially memorable or highquality. the German is one of the steadiest players out there, but she was rattled when Konta pulled her back from 3-0 to 3-4 on serve.
there were half chances in the next game, and if they had been taken it would have compounded the world no 6’s growing anxiety. Ultimately the difference was that Konta contributed 36 unforced errors as she tried to be the aggressor.
She could not make the second set as competitive as the first, with Kerber’s previous experience of two Grand Slam semi-finals telling.
But the truth is that Williams cannot last forever and there is not a huge amount out there that Konta needs to be afraid of.
50% She may have lost to seventh seed Kerber, but Konta’s overall win percentage against top-10 players is 50 per cent.
28
Konta’s new world ranking after reaching the semi-finals — it was 47 before the tournament and 150 a year ago. £375k Konta’s prize money for reaching the last four — plus the second round in doubles — is more than half her previous winnings (£593,654).