The British No1 is rising through the world rankings but,she tells Donald McRae, it has not always been plain sailing after LTA cutsJohanna Konta can sit back and relax, and at least for the next hour,after coolly cracking the secret of a happy life. An obvious intelligence and wry humour pours out of her like sunshine on a drizzly morning in Roehampton. Konta talks about the long dark lows and recent dizzying highs of her career as easily as she contrasts the loneliness of the tour and having her funding reduce this year by the Lawn Tennis Association with the uplifting presence of her Hungarian parents, her boyfriend, or playing Venus Williams,devouring gelato and fulfilling “the dreams of my 11-year-old self”.
The 24-year-old, who has been on a remarkable dash while winning 22 out of her final 24 matches to set up herself as British tennis’s recent No1, and has not done many in-depth interviews. The struggles of a player ranked at 150,as Konta was at the start of the year, are not normally given much attention. It’s different nowadays, or for Konta is suddenly in demand. She seems a natural but the serene insights and giddy anecdotes have their own hinterland.
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Source: theguardian.com