Tag: Johanna Konta

Australian Open 2018: Top 5 matches (Day Two)

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Day two of the Australian Open saw the conclusion of the first round of singles matches in Melbourne. Whilst there were some that impressed, others disappointed. News also broke out of a potential boycott of next year’s competition (with Novak Djokovic playing ring leader) due to player’s pay. Here are my top matches from a busy second day of action.

Johanna Konta bt. Madison Brengle (6-3 6-1)

Australia proves to still be a happy hunting ground for Konta after she comfortably overcame American Brengle in straight sets.

The 26-year-old, who was born and raised in and around Sydney before moving to the UK, put in a good opening performance but not a perfect one. She hit eight aces and 37 winners on the way to victory and was hardly threatened by the world number 90 – who was the last woman to beat Serena Williams in a competitive match before she went on maternity leave.

However, the Brit hit 34 unforced errors, 18 more than Brengle, and scampered three match points before finally sealing the win with her fourth. Given the match situation it didn’t prove to be a massive issue, but moving forward Konta will need to be more precise and ruthless, especially around the net.

The ninth seed needed time to find her groove, but once she did she took complete control. Konta moved a double-break up in the first set to lead 5-2. The American broke back instantly but it was too little to late.

An early break saw Konta take a 3-1 lead in the second set and from there she turned on the afterburners and hurried to the finish.

Roger Federer bt. Aljaz Bedene (6-3 6-4 6-3)

Defending champion and tournament favourite Federer made a solid start to his campaign with a straight sets victory over former Brit Bedene.

Bedene switched his allegiance back to Slovenia ahead of the new season, but he was no match for the Swiss, who is seeking his sixth Australian Open and 20th Grand Slam title.

Federer only dropped three points on serve in the first set and hit 41 winners in what was a commanding performance. The 36-year-old has not been knocked out in the first round of a Grand Slam since 2003 and judging by this performance he won’t be packing his bags anytime soon.

Novak Djokovic bt. Donald Young (6-1 6-2 6-4)

It was a comfortable return to competitive tennis for the 30-year-old Serbian as he brushed Young aside in straight sets.

The number 14 seed was playing for the first time since Wimbledon and played with a cast over his elbow, which didn’t seem to affect his playing style.

Djokovic dropped serve just once throughout and won 11 of the first 12 games to establish a lead he was never going to relinquish.

The Serbian also reacted to reports he had called for a boycott of next year’s Australian Open in a feud regarding player’s revenue.

The Daily Mail claimed that Djokovic had asked all officials to leave the players’ meeting, and that the Serb was accompanied by a lawyer to make the case for setting up a players-only union. (See the article here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-5268709/Novak-Djokovic-career-earnings-82m-wants-more.html)

The 12-time Grand Slam champion denied the claim and rejected the notion that he was ‘greedy’.

Maria Sharapova bt. Tatjana Maria (6-1 6-4)

The five-time Grand Slam champion made a victorious return in what was her first appearance in the Australian Open since her drug ban.

The Russian was suspended for 15 months back in 2016, and struggle at times against the world number 47 on the Margaret Court Arena.

Sharapova hit 28 unforced errors and found herself a break down in the second, but recovered to claim a morale-boosting win.

Lukas Lacko bt. Milos Raonic (6-7 7-5 6-4 7-6)

Former Wimbledon finalist Raonic has been shown the exit door after crashing out to unseeded Slovakian Lacko.

The Canadian was playing for the first time after a injury-hit second half of 2017, and a lack of match fitness ultimately caught up with him.

Lacko, who is ranked 86th in the world, has always performed at his best in Melbourne, having got as far as the third round on two previous occasions. But to have knocked out 22nd seed Raonic is a big scalp for the 30-year-old.

Other selected results

Men’s singles

Zverev (4) bt. Fabbiano (6-1 7-6 7-5)

Thiem (5) bt. Pella (6-4 6-4 6-4)

Goffin (7) bt. Bachinger (6-7 6-3 6-2 6-4)

Wawrinka (9) bt. Berankis (6-3 6-4 2-6 7-6)

Del Potro (12) bt. Tiafoe (6-3 6-4 6-3)

Berdych (19) bt. De Minaur (6-3 3-6 6-0 6-1)

Women’s singles

Halep (1) bt. Aiava (7-6 6-1)

Muguruza (3) bt. Ponchet (6-4 6-3)

Pliskova (6) bt. Cepede Royg (6-3 6-4)

Garcia (8) bt. Witthoeft (7-5 6-3)

Barty (18) bt. Sabalenka (6-7 6-4 6-4)

Putintseva bt. Watson (7-5 7-6)

Australian Open 2018 preview: Who will triumph in Melbourne?

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The days of Christmas turkey and pigs in blankets are truly behind us as the first Grand Slam of the new year is about to get underway.

We may only be two weeks into 2018 but the biggest stars in tennis are all in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.

Injuries and late withdrawals have yet again plagued the build up to the tournament, which has been a constant theme since Wimbledon last summer.

So who’s in the running to lift the trophies at the Rod Laver Arena in two weeks time? Here’s all you need to know ahead of tomorrow’s curtain raiser.

THE FAVOURITES (MEN’S SINGLES)

The men’s tournament looks set to be a three-horse race according to the bookies. Roger Federer – who looked back to his best in 2017 – will be hoping he can add a sixth Australian Open title to his overcrowded trophy cabinet. Having overcome Rafael Nadal in last year’s magnificent final, the champion beings his title defence against Aljaz Bedene, who switched his allegiance back to Slovenia after three years representing Great Britain.

Returning to competitive tennis after a six-month absence is former world number one Novak Djokovic. The Serbian has not played since Wimbledon but the 30-year old could follow in Federer’s footsteps. The Swiss came back after a long lay-off last year to win two Grand Slam titles, and that should boost Djokovic’s confidence of success. However a tough draw pairs him with American Donald Young in round one, and a potential clash with Frenchman Gael Monfis, who won in Qatar earlier this year, in round two.

Federer and Djokovic could then meet in the semi-finals should they both make it that far.

Nadal may not have played any tennis since the ATP Finals in London last November, but the current world number one says he is ready to challenge for the men’s title. The Spaniard won his tenth French Open and also the US Open in 2017. Last year’s runner up plays Victor Estrella Burgos, the world number 81 from Dominican Republic, in his opening match.

ONES TO WATCH (MEN’S SINGLES)

ATP Finals’ champion Gregor Dimitrov comes into 2018 with a career high ranking of third. The Bulgarian made the semi-finals of this tournament 12 months ago and has now experienced enough Grand Slam tennis to make a serious push for a maiden title. His playing style matured in 2017, and comes into the tournament in the best form of his career.

Alexander Zverev is a star in the making. The 20-year-old German is ranked at world number four and if he continues this radical rise it will be a question of when he wins a major, not if. But a lack of five-set tennis could hinder his chances. Zverev has never made it past the fourth round of a Grand Slam and after being drawn in the same half as Federer and Djokovic, the German will need to get over his inability to beat a ‘top four’ player in a five-set contest quickly if he is to clinch his maiden major title.

THE FAVOURITES (WOMEN’S SINGLES)

Karolina Pliskova is the favourite for the women’s title after making the semi-finals at Brisbane a couple of weeks ago. The Czech’s consistency could be a key asset in her arsenal but she also has a powerful serve in her locker that could steer her through the tougher times on court. She may not have won a Grand Slam yet, but she has all the skills to change that.

Simona Halep is the current world number one but has struggled in Melbourne in the past. She exited in round one for the last two years and has never made it past the quarter finals. The Romanian has also yet to win a Grand Slam and her game may not be suited to the fast courts in Australia. However on her day she can beat anyone and can’t be ruled out entirely.

Garbrine Muguruza has struggled in the build-up to the tournament. The two-time Grand Slam champion retired in Brisbane and withdrew in Sydney with a thigh injury and could be touch-and-go in Melbourne. If she can get through to second week she will one to watch out for.

ONES TO WATCH (WOMEN’S SINGLES)

Elina Svitolina burst onto the scene in 2017, winning five WTA titles. Her 2018 season started successfully after winning in Brisbane and now has her sights on a first Grand Slam title. At just 23, she still has some development to do before she is the full package, but like Zverev in the men’s’ draw, it could be a matter of when, not if.

Angelique Kerber won this tournament two years ago to start a memorable 2016. That year she became world number one but things changed drastically for the German in 2017. Early tournament exits saw her drop to world number 22, and will need to be consistent and on top form to get out of a tough quarter of the draw.

REPRESENTING GREAT BRITAIN 

Johanna Konta will be leading the British contingent over in Melbourne. The ninth seed has made it to the quarter and semi-finals in her previous two visits but faces a potentially tough route to the final.

Her opening match is a potential banana skin against USA’s Madison Brengle. Should she get past that test, she may have to overcome women’s favourite Pliskova in the fourth round before a likely last eight contest with top seed Halep.

Ahead of the tournament, the 26-year old left the nation on tenterhooks when she withdrew from Brisbane with a hip injury over her own. She recovered enough to take part in Sydney last week, despite losing her opening match to Agnieszka Radwanska.

Konta insists she will be ready to go from Monday, and she will have the whole country behind her as she looks for her first Grand Slam title.

Heather Watson joins Konta in the women’s draw, and starts against Kazakstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

Kyle Edmund has shrugged off an ankle injury, but faces a tough opener against 11th seed Kevin Anderson. The big serving South African won their only other encounter in a Grand Slam.

ANDY MURRAY AND SERENA WILLIAMS MISS OUT 

Three-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one Andy Murray will miss the tournament and the spring season after undergoing surgery on his persistent hip injury.

The 30-year-old hasn’t played a competitive match since Wimbledon, and decided to have the operation in Brisbane before flying back to London to rest and recover.

Serena Williams was hoping to be back in time for this one following the birth of her baby girl Alexis Olympia. However, she felt that she wasn’t yet at the level to be competitive and now looks to add to her 23 single Grand Slams in Paris later on this year.

OTHER NOTABLE ABSENTEES 

World number 22 Kei Nishikori has not played since August because of a wrist injury and the Japanese star has not recovered in time for Melbourne.

Victoria Azarenka will also miss out due to a court hearing, which has yet to finalise. With the Belarusian unable to leave the US with her 11-month old son, she has decided to stay and fight for custody despite her love for Melbourne.

CHANGES TO THE FORMAT

A shot clock will be introduced at the Australian Open after it was trialled last year. The clock will mean players must serve within 25 seconds between points.

The idea has been met with some criticism from players, including Nadal, but the Grand Slam board has decided to go with it in a number of changes planned.

Rules regarding prize money have also been changed. Any main draw singles player who is unfit to play and who withdraws after 12:00 noon on the Thursday before the start of the main draw will now receive just 50% of the first round prize money. The replacement lucky loser will receive the remaining 50% plus any additional prize money earned thereafter.

Other possible changes in the future could see the number of seeds drop from 32 to 16 in Grand Slam tournaments from 2019.

We may be without some of the big names, but that won’t stop this being a enthralling two weeks of tennis. The courts in Melbourne are notorious for their fast pace, which should suit a majority of the stars on show.

With the younger generation of players starting to break through the ranks, these Grand Slam tournaments are looking more and more open each year. When that’s the case, we are all usually in for shocks, thrills and memorable matches.

Hungarian born, Australian bred, Britain’s sweetheart. 2017 could be Johanna Konta’s year.

Published on by Liam_RichnerLeave a comment

After an unbelievable surge up the WTA Rankings, the British number one will hope to continue her rise towards the top of women’s tennis and possibly compete in this year’s majors, as the new tennis season gets underway.

Back in 1977, ABBA released their hit single ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’, which spent five weeks at number one, whilst George Lucas’s Star Wars opened in cinemas for the first time. On a more tragic note, ‘King of Rock and Roll’ Elvis Presley sadly passed away at his home in Graceland, Memphis aged just 42 in the same year.

But 1977 was also the last time a British woman made it to a Grand Slam single’s final.

Her name was Virginia Wade. Born in Bournemouth, she made it all the way to number two in the world during a successful playing career, which culminated in 55 singles titles.

Wade was also a brilliant doubles player- reaching world number one.

She won three Grand Slam singles championships and four Grand Slam doubles championships, making her the only British woman in history to have won titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Some would’ve hoped that Wade was the first of many competitive and gifted female tennis stars from the UK. Instead, it’s been 50 years without a grand slam finalist.

Laura Robson, Heather Watson and Anne Keothavong have all been hit and miss, and although Andy Murray has won the US Open and Wimbledon twice in the last five years, we haven’t had too much to get excited about on the women’s side of the game.

But now we may have found someone who has the potential to finally follow in Wade’s footsteps.

Johanna Konta may be from Australia, and have Hungarian parents, but she has become a British sweetheart since gaining citizenship in 2012.

In doing so, she has created a sense of excitement in the country.

Her remarkable rise up the rankings in 2016 was a joy to behold for tennis and sports fans, but she has steadily improved her game over the last five years.

In 2012 she won her first ever Grand Slam match at the US Open- a straight sets victory over Timea Babos. She was only 21 at the time, and ranked 203 in the world.

2013 saw her move up in the rankings at a easy pace, and by 2014, she had broken into the top 100.

A drop in form saw her fall back to world no.150 in December 2014, with people beginning to label her as another false hope.

No one saw or even expected what was to come next in 2015.

Despite an opening round defeat to Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon, Konta was able to experience Centre Court for the first time, and went into the US Open that year with subdued optimism.

At Flushing Meadows she went on a remarkable run, reaching the last 16 before being knocked out by Petra Kvitova. Bearing in mind she had only won just the single Grand Slam match prior to the tournament, her name began to once again be talked up by pundits and journalists.

Following on from her US Open displays, Konta performed heroically at the 2015 Wuhan Cup. She defeated former world number one Victoria Azarenka and world number two at the time Simona Halep before agonisingly losing out in the quarter-finals to Venus Williams.

Her runs in both the US Open and Wuhan Cup saw her climb into the top 50 for the first time in her career, and become British number one ahead of Watson.

At this point even the WTA were noticing Konta, which resulted in her becoming a finalist at the end of season awards ceremony for most improved player. She lost out to French Open semi-finalist Timea Bacsinszky.

For the first time, Konta went into a season with expectation on her shoulders in 2016, and it looked like it was having an effect on her performances.

An opening round exit at the Shenzhen Open was followed by another early exit at Hobart.

However, at the Australian Open, Konta went on a run which saw her defeat Venus Williams, Zheng Saisai,  Denisa Allertová, Ekaterina Makarova, and qualifier Zhang Shuai. Her journey in Melbourne ultimately came to an end in the semifinals, where she lost to eventual champion Angelique Kerber in straight sets.

But for the first time in 32 years, a female tennis player from Britain had made it to the last four of a Grand Slam. She also became the first British female player to be seeded at Wimbledon for three decades last June.

To cap off her consistent year, Konta won her first WTA event, beating Venus Williams in the final of the Stanford Classic in California 7-5 5-7 6-2.

In December 2016 she broke into the top 10 in the world- becoming the first female Brit to achieve the feat since Jo Durie in 1984.

During the off-season, Konta  has changed her coach, with Esteban Carril and Jose-Manuel Garcia being replaced by Belgian Wim Fissette.

Some may have questioned her choice, but after their first pre-season together, the pair seem to have enhanced her game even more.

At the time of writing, She has made it to the semi-finals of the Shenzhen Open- her first event of 2017.

So what makes Konta such a difficult opponent? Why could she challenge for a Grand Slam title?

Her natural skill and athleticism..yes. But also her incredible mindset. She somehow manages to keeps herself grounded, and goes into every tournament one game at a time.

She doesn’t think about rankings or prize money. She never thinks two or three rounds down the line. She respects each opponent she faces and treats each match like a final.

From watching her on television, Konta seems a calm, cheerful and well tempered individual. It’s rare you’ll see her raise her voice or answer back. She seems comfortable and at ease with the media, and doesn’t let the luxuries of being one of the top 10 players in the world effect her lifestyle.

She has also never given up on her dreams.

Financially, working with Garcia and Carril was a straining business. It was a big gamble. But one that paid off evidently. She stuck by her coaches, and her coaches stuck by her. Despite her funding from the Lawn Tennis Association being slashed, she still managed to earn the money needed to take up necessary training camps in northern Spain.

If there are any young females wanting someone to emulate or grow up to be like, Johanna Konta is a perfect example. Work hard, don’t give up and always follow your dreams.

That is the Konta way.

Moving from another country to pursue in a career is always a challenge, but it’s one that has left a young tennis starlet – and a nation deprived of women’s champions for half a century – very much on the road to glory.