Johanna Konta just got qualified in the US Open Round of 16 – writes 24.hu.
Born in 17 May 1991 in Sydney, Australia, she’s been playing tennis since the age of eight. Her family moved to England in 2005, so Johanna can learn from the best instructors in Europe. She became a British citizen in 2012 and is fluent not only in English, but in Hungarian as well.
Konta’s been present in the ITF tournaments since 2008; she had to wait three years for her first WTA competitions, but got eliminated by Lucie Sarafova. After she got the British citizenship in 2012, she could play in Wimbledon, where she also got eliminated; this time by Christina McHale.
However, using her own resources, she qualified herself into the US Open Tennis Championships where she defeated her friend, Tímea Babos.
Konta’s performance has been fluctuating ever since, up until 2015. No one could beat her neither in Granby, nor in Vancouver, meaning, that she’s been undefeated since ten matches now.
She was optimistic before the US Open, and her optimism proved to be right. Out of the qualifying rounds Konta won three and got herself qualified to the leader board. She first defeated Louisa Chirico, then the Spanish Muguruza Blanco (9th on the world ranking list), and the German Andrea Petkovic (18th on the world ranking list).
After her flawless victories, the British sports media noticed her as well. Almost all of the online sites followed her matches live, and the BBC recently presented a lengthy article about her unique performance. The latest British woman who got qualified to the Round of 16 was Laura Robson in 2012, but no British woman was among the best eight since 1984 (Jo Durie held the record).
Andy Murray, who also got into the Round of 16, praised Johanna Konta during the press conference, which was held after the match. He said that “She’s never given up against all odds, which is a good sign. She’s in great shape and very close to be the best British tennis player. Maybe she’ll go further; she defeated Muguruzat and Petkovic, and she definitely has potential.”
based on article of 24.hu
translated by Adrienn Sain