GRAND CHANCE
Konta title boosts her hopes of first Slam
THE Aussies are trying to be magnanimous about it, but no wonder they are becoming ever keener to try to claim a piece of Jo Konta for themselves.
For a start, it is undisputable that the 25-year- old based in Eastbourne spent the first half of her life on Sydney’s North Shores. In addition, she is looking like a genuine contender for the Australian Open title.
Konta will go to Melbourne Park elevated to world No 9 and as one of the game’s real form players after hammering world No 3 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-2 to win the Sydney International in her former backyard.
It was an emotional win at the Olympic tennis centre, where her father once took a job in the pro shop to help support her training there when she was an unfancied youngster.
That she ended up in England, having been overlooked for elite Australian training squads, is turning into a real boon for British tennis, which now has two players in with a realistic shot at the first Grand Slam of the season. Presenting her with the trophy and a cheque for £104,000, Tennis Australia president Steve Healy said, only half-jokingly, ‘She’s one of us really.’ Konta does not make a secret of her Hungarian- Australian heritage and admitted: ‘I was born here so this is a very special moment for me.’ But nobody could accuse her of getting carried away, not when the full extent of her post-win celebrations were a ham and cheese toastie and non-diet Coke. ‘ It’s not a reflection of how next week will go, how the rest of the year will go,’ she said. ‘ I t’s back to everyday hard work straight away, because that’s what dictates how I do. ‘I’m really pleased with the amount of matches I have been able to play. ‘Obviously how I have done here, I take it as a really positive thing, as a nice reward along the way for the hard work that myself and my team have put in every day.’
She was watched in the stands by her sister Eva, 10 years her senior, who stayed behind in New South Wales when the rest of the family headed for Britain — where the majority of her tennis development took place.
That has seen her turn, after a long period of gestation, into one of the elite of the women’s game.
Some of the quality of her ball-striking was breathtaking as she dismantled a thoroughbred opponent in just 81 minutes.
The comments from a shocked Radwanska, who has won 20 WTA Tour titles, were instructive. ‘I was doing everything right and hitting the ball well, but it was coming back better and better,’ she said.
‘I can’t even be angry with myself. What she was doing was unbelievable. She was playing amazing tennis and so aggressive, hitting it so deep that I couldn’t do much.’
Radwanska is one of the craftiest players out there, and usually she is able to bamboozle her opponents with her mix of spins and angles. But she simply had no answer to the way Konta opened up the court with her penetrative drives.
Nobody will relish facing Konta in Melbourne, and it is quite something that she has clearly improved since unexpectedly making the semi-finals 12 months ago. That remarkable run has conclusively been proved not to be an anomaly, despite the upheavals of the off-season when surprisingly split with coach Esteban Carril and then had to contend with the death of her sports psychologist Juan Coto, who did so much in helping her competitive mindset.
She looks to have continued on seamlessly under the tutelage of Belgian coach Wim Fissette.
Konta was one of seven British singles players to discover their draw for the Australian Open, with her opening opponent on Tuesday being Belgium’s world No 73 Kirsten Flipkens, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist. She could meet Caroline Wozniacki in the third round and potentially Serena Williams in the quarter- finals before another meeting with Radwanska.
Defending champion and world No 1 Angelique Kerber has had a rocky start to the season, adding to the feeling that there could be another surprise winner in her mould this year.
Heather Watson and Naomi Broady have tougher tasks in their opening matches, both of them against seeded Australians. Watson takes on former US Open champion Sam Stosur while Broady is up against Russian-born Daria Gavrilova.