Konta becomes first British woman to reach a grand slam quarter-final for 32 years and next plays Chinese qualifier Shuai ZhangA year ago,Johanna Konta was ranked 147 in the world and frankly going nowhere. Anna Tatishvili – the Georgian-American best known for putting the world No8 Karolina Pliskova out of the 2015 US Open in the first round – had just beaten her in two sets in round one of the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open, the then perennially nervous player’s second failed attempt to execute the main draw in Melbourne.
Tatishvili has done itsy-bitsy since. Konta the conqueror – of her nerves and her peers – has transformed her tennis and her life. On Wednesday she will walk on to one of the showcase courts in Melbourne with a world No32 ranking already guaranteed, or contest the quarter-final on her debut in the main draw against a player considerably more obscure than she once was,the Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai.
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Source: theguardian.com