We are moving towards the most important part of the season for British No. 1 Johanna Konta. Known for her skill to power through opponents on a fast hard court and, as a former Australian Open semifinalist and a Miami Open champion, she displayed all that power, but her results at Wimbledon are where she has gained substantial attention in the UK.
Konta is fresh off a very good week in Nottingham once again, where she made the final, losing out in a heated three-set match where line calls did not go her way in that final set, but overall it was a positive week. It was the first final she had made in exactly a year. The pressure heightens during the grass court swing especially as the British players try to move step by step towards peaking for the grand final at Wimbledon, where all eyes are on them and they expected to perform to the best that they can. The British No. 1 stressed the importance of getting those matches behind her on the grass.
“Oh 100%. I think it was my first final for exactly a year so that’s a nice little achievement for me in this period. Also to have those 5 maatches in a row – definitely a good boost for me in terms of match fitness – yeah being that much more match-fit. I think I became a tougher competitor as the matches went on, which comes with match fitness. You play certain points a bit tighter, a bit closer, you mkae those first serves, you just become … you smell the blood more like a shark, you feel the matches a bit more, so I think that definitely felt like it got better and better as the matches went on, which is quite normal for any tennis player. the matches you get under your belt, the more things flow also a bit.”
“I definitely think I got to build on a lot of things last week. I think just to have those five matches in succession is something I feel very grateful for and something that I worked very hard for as well. I definitely take a lot of good things from that. I’m looking forward to re-using that and re-applying that into my match tomorrow. It definitely doesn’t guarantee anything and I’ve got a very tough opponent but I’m really looking forward to trying.”
The most telling moment came in the midway stage of the roundtable interview where Konta was asked whether those memories of making the Wimbledon semifinal flash back to her when she practices on site at Wimbledon. Konta known for believing in her own process that she mostly keeps very close to her, but she was very open in declaring that her quest and her desire is to be a major winner in the near future.
“I mean to this day, I’d like to be a Grand Slam champion. that’s what I work towards. I’d definitely like to be holding the Wimbledon trophy but I’ focussing on the work to be done and if it’s in the cards for me, I’d be very pleased with that but I will definitely be trying my hardest to put it in the cards.”
The pressure of playing Wimbledon for the first time or even on several occasions is something that British players do not necessarily always respond well to. As much as it is great to have the crowd behind you, willing you to win point after point, it can be quite overbearing to have a nation on your shoulders as Tim Henman and Andy Murray learned–and now Johanna Konta is starting to find out. Konta remained in positive spirit about the way she turns that pressure into positive energy and how she has dealt with it admirably in the years gone by so far.
“I think I’ve dealt reasonably well with playing the last number of years at Wimbledon. I think obviously as time goes and as I get older I’d like to think I deal with it better naturally, but if I’m in the fortunate position of making it to the end of the Championships again this year, I mean I’d like to think that I would be dealing with it equally the same or better. I think last year I dealt with it quite well so I don’t know how I could deal with it better.”
It remains to be seen how far Konta can really go at this year’s Wimbledon, whether she can put together five match-wins at Wimbledon like she did last year or whether she can become the first British female winner at the Championships since Virginia Wade did it in 1977. It is a long way away for Konta, but if she puts in more competitive matches in Birmingham and Eastbourne then that will really set her up for Wimbledon and potentially another challenge for the title.
(Main Photo from Getty)
