As Johanna Konta contemplates the next stage of her wide-reaching tennis journey and a possible place in the fourth round of the US Open, she recalls in a quiet moment how it all started, and how she might never have played the game at all but for the fact there were tennis courts next to her school.
That school, it should be pointed out, was not in Eastbourne, where she has lived with her Hungarian-born parents since 2005. It was back in sunburnt Australia, that land of sweeping plains where sport is so accessible young athletes can choose from a variety of disciplines without leaving their own street sometimes.
“My dad said he would have wanted me to be a swimmer if I hadn’t had ear infections,” she recalls in the players’ garden at Flushing Meadows on the eve of her third-round match on Saturday against the very good German Andrea Petkovic. She brings an unbeaten run of 15 matches – the most by a British woman this century – but her all-round athleticism will help her through the tougher moments.
“I did a bit of athletics, I was an 800m runner. I won my school girls and boys, I won my district and I made it to state, but I actually never went because I was training for tennis. I’ve got the ribbons. With tennis, my mum played a bit and my uncle – her brother – still plays to this day, so tennis was always around. But the only reason I started playing was that there was a tennis centre right next to my primary school and they did after school camp. Both my parents were working, so I guess if it had been an athletics centre it might have been a different story.”
After a second-round match whose 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 scoreline fairly reflected the swings of dominance, she added: “I’m just happy I was able to roll with the punches.”
Some of those punches have come from unexpected quarters.
“It’s never nice to feel like your career could be in jeopardy,” she said, referring to the cost-cutting that has been part of Michael Downey’s stewardship at the LTA, and which hit her budget in March.
“It has definitely brought some uncertainty to things, but I was always going to find a way. It’s not like I’ve been completely let go, it’s not at all like that. But it definitely brought some change to my circumstances.
“But change is sometimes needed as well, and it gave me the opportunity to also go to Spain a bit more, get a change of scenery – my coaches are there – so things are good right now.”
Konta said there was no “click moment” to kickstart her remarkable run. “It’s just been a progression. I’d like to think I do get a little wiser as time goes on and a little more experienced – good work, being healthy enough to do that work and being fortunate enough to have good people around me.”
What she has discovered is a way to handle adversity, to take it on rather than collapse under the weight of it.
“That’s actually a huge thing I’ve been working on with my team, enjoying the tough situations, enjoying the fact that I’ll need to go out there and fight for each point. I’ll lose some and win some but all that’s just part of the journey, and that’s OK. And that actually being OK is a big thing, not just saying you’re OK with it. It can become difficult, so we’re working on it.
“I feel pretty good considering. I did everything I could to recover well: ice bath, massage, food, hydration, I got all the boxes ticked and the rest is out of my control.”
As for asking Andy Murray for advice, the thought has never occurred to her. Konta appreciates help but is strong-minded enough to follow her own path.
“I know Andy enough to say hello but I haven’t had any real conversations with him. I don’t have that kind of relationship with anyone. But I’m a firm believer that you can learn things from anyone, from the bus driver, so I just keep my ears open and try to be open to learning.”
