COUNT ON KONTA!
Second star name falls as Jo stands to make it big
BRITAIN’S Jo Konta is fast turning into the surprise package of the whole US Open after taking another prestige scalp last night to reach the fourth round.
She followed victory over world No9 Garbine Muguruza by beating Germany’s world No 18 Andrea Petkovic 7-6, 6-3 in the opening match of the day, a win which underlined her remarkable improvement this summer.
Konta, 24, has now won 16 straight matches since Wimbledon, after taking two titles in Canada last month and coming all the way through the qualifying event here.
Keeping that sequence up will prove difficult as she faces twice-Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who is back in prime form after struggling earlier this year.
‘It was definitely tough because Andrea is one of the best competitors on the tour,’ said Konta. ‘I’m just really happy. It’s all a progression. I’ve been playing a good level all year and I’m just fortunate enough to be healthy now. It’s always a confidence boost to beat the best players.’
A new-found calmness under pressure was again the hallmark of her performance in what was the first time she had played at this stage of a Grand Slam.
Konta has now emulated Laura Robson, who reached the US Open fourth round in 2012. Prior to that the last British woman to make this stage was Durie in 1991. No British woman has reached a Grand Slam quarter-final since Jo Durie at Wimbledon 1984.
Konta, who spends some of her time training in northern Spain, is now guaranteed a ranking of around 60, just behind Heather Watson as the national No1.
That is not the only guarantee, as she will take home a minimum £141,000 in prize money for reaching the fourth round.
In a seesawing first set there was nothing to choose between Konta and a player who is smarter than Muguruza but lacks her unusual ballstriking ability. Konta’s level again soared above her falsely low ranking of 97 and she broke for 4-3 but then lost eight consecutive points. Konta, born in Australia to Hungarian parents who moved to the UK when she was 14, then broke again but failed to serve the set out, hindered by sending in a crucial double fault.
The tall and athletic German then went 2-0 up, only for that to spark a surge from her less fancied opponent. Konta reeled off the next seven points as she held her nerve and mixed her game up skilfully, giving Petkovic angles and slices that she could not handle.
For one who had a reputation for panicking under pressure, that aspect was the most impressive transformation.
The Eastbourne- based player then drove home the advantage, although Petkovic began complaining of feeling unwell at 0-2 down and summoned the physio at the next change-over, when she was given ice treatment and had her blood pressure checked.
That could have disrupted Konta’s rhythm but she kept bearing down with a pleasing versatility in her game, despite suffering terrible luck with a succession of netcords.
There were some nervous moments at the end after she failed to serve it out at 5-1.
The job was eventually completed in an hour and 56 minutes on the sixth match point after some late resistance from the German, who appeared to have recovered from what she described as a ‘cold’.