News | WTA Tennis English
MIAMI, FL, USA – The British media celebrated Johanna Konta’s win at the Miami Open with plenty of print space and air time – and are hoping she’ll rise even further up the rankings than her current career high of No.7.
Konta said in her post-match press conference that she hoped her journey in the tournament would garner lots of attention for the sport.
“If the coverage has been good then it’s great for us,” said the British No.1. “It’s promoting tennis, and hopefully promoting more people to play.”
And so it has proved – starting with a front-page splash in the Sunday Times.
No stunts required – win as big as Konta is starting to, it gets attention. Front page of the Sunday Times. pic.twitter.com/VQKgSUsnt9
— DavidLaw (@DavidLawTennis) April 2, 2017
Comparisons are inevitably being drawn with Virginia Wade, Britain’s last female singles Slam winner – but Konta has played that down, although she admitted she would love to win Wimbledon.
The Daily Mail reported that she said: “It does sound quite monumental but winning Wimbledon is a dream and hopefully one day I will get an opportunity to play for such a title.”
An unforgettable two weeks for @JoKonta91 at the @MiamiOpen! ? pic.twitter.com/XuN5Snv16F
— WTA (@WTA) April 2, 2017
The Daily Telegraph’s tennis correspondent Simon Briggs assessed Konta’s chances of a Slam title thus: “How much further, then, can this late-blooming champion climb? Two years ago, Konta was ranked around the 150-mark, which did not even earn her a spot in the qualifying tournament here. Now she stands alongside Pliskova and world No 1 Angelique Kerber as one of the women most likely to worry Serena Williams.”
In the Guardian, Kevin Mitchell wrote: “Konta was clearly the better player in this match as well as the one in Melbourne. That was such a clear indicator of how far the British No1 has come in a relatively short time. There would not have been many takers backing Konta to beat Wozniacki even a couple of years ago. Now she has to set her sights higher.”
And of course Konta’s Fed Cup teammates were also thrilled for her – Naomi Broady and Heather Watson were straight on Twitter to publicly congratulate their friend.
She came, she saw, she 'kontad' ? best tweet I've seen today! Killing it JK ? @JoKonta91
— Naomi Broady (@NaomiBroady) April 2, 2017
Congrats @JoKonta91 ! ?????? #killinit
— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) April 1, 2017
