Jet-setter Jo moving into gear on clay MIKE DICKSON
Jo KONTA played two matches on two continents at the weekend, and won the second of them last night after hotfooting it from Morocco to Madrid.
Having dashed to make a flight following her loss in the final of the WTA event in Rabat on Saturday, the British no 1 ignored any fatigue to defeat world no 49 Alison Riske 6-4, 6-1.
It is part of a heartening upturn for Konta, who has already won the same number of matches on clay this season as in the whole of the previous two. She now meets French open champion Simona Halep, one of the toughest opponents on surface, but she will at least do so after a day’s rest.
Reflecting on the unglamorous nature of being a travelling pro, she said: ‘ Saturday was a long day for me, we went straight to the airport and got a 9pm flight that got in at around 11.30pm and I got to bed two hours later.
‘I came out here today and hit for about half an hour beforehand, it’s the quickest turnaround I’ve had in my career. Conditions are very different, the ball flies a bit and the clay is not quite the same. I thought I handled myself pretty well out there.
‘The scheduling is not ideal but we had to complete the first round matches today. Maria (Sakkari, who beat her in Rabat) was in the same boat.’
Konta’s confidence appears to have been bolstered by two battling wins in Britain’s Fed Cup tie last month against Kazakhstan in London.
‘I thought it would have a positive effect,’ she said. ‘I had a good week last week and saved three match points in the first round. I just kept trusting what I was doing and I’m happy I’ve been able to transfer that into the regular tournaments.’
Against the flat- hitting American, Konta raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set. She was pulled back to 4-4 but then forged ahead after clinching a set point against serve at 5-4 with a drilled backhand that landed right where the baseline meets the sideline.
The centre of attention this week is Roger Federer, playing his first clay court tournament for three years after summoning Britain’s Dan Evans to help prepare him in Switzerland.
Federer invited Evans to spend four days with him in the small village of Felsberg near where he has a home in Switzerland’s eastern mountains. With his usual attention to detail, he used a small club there because it is at almost the same altitude as Madrid, if marginally lower.
Searching for a practice partner, his coach Ivan Ljubicic texted his opposite number of the British no 3, David Felgate, asking if Evans might be available between tournaments.
However, even Federer cannot control the weather close to his mountainous habitat.
‘We had two tough days, it was so windy,’ said Federer yesterday. ‘It was unbelievable. I’ve never had practices in such winds. It was hilarious. Anyway, it was good fun. ‘It’s also interesting sometimes to play with a onehanded backhand player who has got a slice and stuff. I know Dan, and he is a nice guy, and it was a good three or four- day practice week.’
While Evans narrowly missed out on a spot in qualifying here, Federer — for whom this will likely be the only warmup for Roland Garros — will play tomorrow night, against either Frenchman Richard Gasquet or Spanish wildcard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Kyle Edmund will also play tomorrow, having been given a difficult opener against the in-form Italian Fabio Fognini.