‘I’m not a drama queen,’ insists red-faced Konta after court collapse

JOHANNA KONTA expects to be fully fit and raring to go by the time she meets Belinda Bencic in the third round of the US Open here tomorrow despite her health scare in a dramatic 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory last night over Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova,

On a hot and humid day, with the temperature approaching 31C, Konta fell to her knees when serving at set point down in the second set of her second-round match.

The 25-year-old Briton, who had been looking increasingly hot and bothered, was shaking and struggling to catch her breath.

“I’m feeling a little embarrassed,” the Briton admitted afterwards. “But I’m doing everything that I can to recover well and try to get myself into a state to be ready to compete again. I feel quite certain that with some TLC I’ll be good to go again.

“It’s not a situation that I’d want to be in. It’s not a situation I’d want anyone to be in. I’m out there to play my sport, to showcase my sport. I’m not an actress. I’m not a drama queen.”

The British No1 added: “My heart rate spiked and I couldn’t control my breathing. I started hyperventilating. I started shaking. That’s why I went down on the ground, because I was quite violently shaking. I don’t know if anyone’s had a panic attack, but that’s basically what it feels like, except my muscles were shaking as well.”

Konta said she had suffered a similar episode four years ago and knew how to cope with it.

“I knew straight away that I needed to get ice on myself, try to get my breathing down, calm myself down and in turn my muscles and my heart calmed down as well,” she said.

After extensive treatment, Konta resumed nearly 15 minutes later. She immediately lost the set but then took a bathroom break to change clothes. When she returned, she quickly took charge of the deciding set.

Pironkova said that while Konta’s actions had been within the rules, she thought the Briton’s use of the break after had been one step too far.

“Obviously some players use them to refocus,” the Bulgarian said. “I don’t think they should be used that way.”

Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, the world No3 and French Open champion, went out to Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, who won 7-5, 6-4. “It was a very tough match,” Muguruza said afterwards. “I didn’t play well.”

Caroline Wozniacki, a former world No1, lost the first four games to Svetlana Kuznetsova but went on to win 6-4, 6-4. Wozniacki has had an injury-troubled year and is currently No74 in the world rankings.