Improving Konta Will Play Eastbourne International Next Month
It’s been a tough couple of years for Johanna Konta. A lack of form, coaching changes and niggly injuries have caused Britain’s best female tennis player to reassess her game and her ambitions. It’s not that her career has gone off the rails as such – she is till British number one – but it feels like Konta has not kicked on after all the promise shown back in 2016 and 2017. Through those couple of seasons, Konta reached two Grand Slam semi finals and had arguably her greatest achievement in winning the 2017 Miami Open.
Konta, who is based in Eastbourne, has now dropped back to number 47 in the world. At one point in 2017, she was placed as high as world number four in the WTA rankings, Yet, at 27, Konta still has plenty of times to realise her ambitions at the top of tennis, and there have been some good signs recently, including a first-ever clay-court final on the WTA Tour last week. Konta will be disappointed that she didn’t win the Morocco Open, as she was a set and a break up, but it’s more evidence of a player who looks she can recapture her form.
Konta is long shot for French Open
For Konta, it might be the perfect time to hit top form again. She has never been passed the first round of the French Open before, but that performance on the clay in Morocco will give her confidence at Roland Garros. Sports Betting site 888sport rates Konta as a 100/1 shot for the French Open, which gets underway on 26thJune, but even reaching the second week will be seen as progress for the Brit as she looks to get her career back on track.
Despite her improvement on clay, it might be the grass court season that Konta has eyed up to really put her career back on track. Konta is due to appear at the Eastbourne International (21st-29thJune), a brilliant week for Sports fans in the local area, as well as tournaments in Nottingham and Birmingham, in the lead up to Wimbledon in July. It’s not clear whether Konta will be seeded or not in the draw for Wimbledon, but it’s clear that most of the world’s top players will not want to be drawn against the Brit in the early rounds.
Williams’ glorious career is coming to an end
Indeed, Konta’s odds to win Wimbledon – 40/1 from 888sport – are much lower than those for the French Open. The favourite, Serena Williams at 7/2, is clearly coming towards the end of her career, and many observers believe it is finally time for another woman to take the crown from the legendary American. The most likely candidate is Japanese star Naomi Osaka, who is a 6/1 shot to win Wimbledon, but many others in the women’s game, Konta included, will believe that Serena’s declining dominance will be an opportunity for them.
Admittedly, it’s going to be tough for Konta. It was a massive opportunity for a first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon 2017 (Konta lost to Venus Williams in the semis), and she has somewhat lost her way ever since. Yet, if 2018 was an annus horribilis, 2019 seems to be a year where the fightback has slowly taken shape. We will get to see her in action in Eastbourne next month, where she will hopefully continue this steady line of recapturing form. If so, bigger and better things might await Britain’s number one.