Johanna Konta says she has matured as a tennis player ahead of Australian Open
Sunday 15 January 2017 08:45, UK
Johanna Konta says her tennis career has matured like a fine wine ahead of the Australian Open where she is hoping to better last year’s run to the semi-finals.
The British No 1 heads to Melbourne as one of the favourites in a highly unpredictable women's draw after bulldozing her way to a second WTA title last week in Sydney, brushing aside the resurgent Eugenie Bouchard and then world No 3 Agnieszka Radwanska in the final.
Konta's triumph means she will move inside the world's top 10, to ninth, when the rankings refresh on Monday, two years after starting a season 150th and having never gone past the first round of a major tournament.
"I believe I have matured," Konta said. "I believe I've gotten better at reinvesting the experiences and the lessons that I've learned throughout the years and actually putting them into the situations that I face on the match court.
"I think that has made me a better competitor. But again, I think things like that also take time, like a good wine, so I think it was just about accumulating experiences."
Konta reached the last four in Melbourne 12 months ago before falling to eventual champion Angelique Kerber but the German and No 2 seed Serena Williams have made unconvincing starts to the year, opening up the possibility for the likes of Konta to take advantage.
"It is special to come back here," Konta said. "I'm actually really enjoying also having dinners where I had some of my favourite places where I went last year.
"I'm just really happy that I'm here, I'm healthy, and I'm enjoying playing. That's what I'm looking forward to, just to compete."
Konta's form is all the more remarkable given the upheaval she has endured off the court. The death of her mind mentor Juan Coto towards the end of last year was followed by a split with Esteban Carril, the Spanish coach had overseen her rise into the elite.
She replaced Carril with Belgian Wim Fissette, who had previously worked with Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka, and who will be courtside for her opening match against Kirsten Flipkens on Tuesday.
"I guess we're doing well together," Konta said, smiling. "But more than that, I'm enjoying learning from him. He comes with just an incredible amount of experience on the tour with some of the best players in the game.
"I'm really keeping my ears open and trying to be a sponge, really just trying to absorb as much as I can from him. We've only recently just started, so we're also learning more and more about each other. I think he's a very calm individual, but he's also quite funny, so we're having a good time."
Flipkens beat Konta in three sets when they met at Monterrey last year and the 31-year-old represents a tricky first hurdle in the draw.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge, the opportunity to play her again," Konta said. "She's a great player. She's a Wimbledon semi-finalist. She's been around the tour for a long time and that's by no accident."
Check our game-by-game updates from Andy Murray and Johanna Konta's matches at the 2017 Australian Open by following our blog on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad or our Twitter account @skysportstennis.
By purchasing a Sky Sports Day Pass for £6.99 or Sky Sports Week Pass for £10.99, you can enjoy access to all seven Sky Sports channels and watch on a TV with a NOW TV Box or on a range of devices.
