Johanna Konta- Australian Open semi finalist is a sentence I never thought I would utter. Ranked as low as 147 last year the Aussie Brit made it to the US Open 4th round losing narrowly to Petra Kvitova and then continued her stellar form accumulating match win after match win on the WTA Tour. As her performances improved as too did Konta’s ranking and she finished the 2015 ranked inside the Top 50.
Johanna Konta attributes her success to mental coach Juan Coto who has helped the Brit compartmentalise her on court feelings and focus on the process rather than the outcome. There can be no doubt that the appointment of Coto has rejuvenated Konta’s game. In the early hours of Thursday morning GMT Konta will face German left hander and 7th seed Angelique Kerber for a place in the Australian Open final and a likely match up against Serena Williams.
Konta has benefitted from a fortunate draw and several big names suffering early defeats in her quarter of the draw. Nevertheless JoKo has had to deal with the pressure of being favourite and in performing in from of the huge arenas in Melbourne Park. She has taken this opportunity with aplomb. She takes on left handed counter puncher Angie Kerber who is more experienced that the Brit but in such a high pressure match Konta cannot be discounted. Kerber will be the overwhelming favourite to make the final which could free Konta up a bit and allow her to swing freely. Konta has the serve, forehand and power to force Kerber into errors. Lets hope both ladies are on their best games tomorrow.
Regardless of the result tomorrow Konta will have proved that her recent form and coaching changes have not been a fluke. Having had 6 years on the lower reaches of the WTA tour, Konta has done her best to keep a low profile often being overshadowed with the younger GB ladies Heather Watson and Laura Robson. But currently ranked number 1 in GB and potentially rising to Top 30 for her performances thus far in Australia Konta’s stock will rise rapidly as she becomes a seeded player at Grand Slam events.
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