There was a moment as Johanna Konta left Centre Court on Tuesday that it seemed she hadn’t yet realised what she had done.
By beating Simona Halep in three pulsating sets, the 26-year-old became the first British woman to reach the semi-finals at The Championships in 39 years. On Thursday she faces five-time former champion Venus Williams as her bid to become Britain’s first ladies’ singles champion since Virginia Wade in 1977 continues.
“Right now it is surreal, because of how quickly things change in tennis,” she said. Much the same could be said about her career.
Konta arrived at The Championships with the No.6 seeding and a solitary Wimbledon win to her name, symptomatic of her sudden surge to the top of the women’s game in her mid-twenties.
This time two years ago Konta had won just one Grand Slam match, a first round contest at the US Open in 2012. But a breakout run to the fourth round in New York three years later sparked a surge from No.146 in the world to the WTA’s top 10 in the space of 16 months.
Last year she reached the Australian Open semi-finals, losing to eventual champion Angelique Kerber. In April she claimed the biggest title of her career at the Miami Open. And now she is the last Briton standing at The Championships.
For those wondering what has clicked to spark the rankings surge since 2015, use that word around Konta at your peril. “It's not like a light bulb thing,” she insisted in New York back in 2015. “It's something that has been years and years and years of hard work and years and years and years of making mistakes and then learning from those mistakes, eventually.”
“It's been years and years and years of hard work and years and years and years of making mistakes
Konta had the tools and the work ethic to compete with the world’s best, but it was the decision to improve the mental side of her game that catalysed her career. The impact of the late Juan Coto, a friend of her then-coach Esteban Carril who began offering Konta sports psychology advice in 2014, is often cited as the last piece of the puzzle.
“Juan was a tremendous influence on me,” Konta said of the Spaniard, who died suddenly in November at the age of 47. “He was someone who approached his work with me in a very holistic manner – it was more about me as a human being than necessarily a tennis player.
“I think he did a tremendous job with me in working on my happiness as a person, as a human being, and dealing with life in general. In turn, he looked to help me enjoy something that I've loved since I was a little girl, and to try to be the best at that.”
The results speak for themselves – and Wim Fissette, Konta’s current coach, believes that mental fortitude is the foundation of her ongoing success.
“She’s winning a lot of matches by mental strength,” said the Belgian, who has also worked with Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Halep.
“This is a result of her hard work these past years to stay strong. In the third set of the [Donna] Vekic match there were a few games where she was 0-30 down, but stayed strong and served well. Same with the [Caroline] Garcia match, and then against Halep of course.”
Wade, who watched the woman putting her status as Great Britain’s last ladies’ singles champion under threat from the Royal Box, was similarly impressed by Konta’s ability to shut out the pressure.
“It was wonderful, it really was,” said the 1977 champion. “I thought she held her nerve so well. I didn’t see any fumble in the latter stages. She began to realise that if she could just stay calm she would get through, that Halep was having more trouble than she was.
“That’s the great thing about tennis – you get the chance to regroup, as long as you don’t lose it,” Wade added. “That’s what Jo is doing so well. She is focusing so well on every point as an individual point, and she’s not letting the score get to her.”
Now for the penultimate test. Konta has a 3-2 head-to-head record with Williams, but lost their most recent encounter on the clay in Rome. This is their first meeting on grass.
“What Venus and her sister have given our sport is absolutely tremendous,” Konta said. “The way they've elevated women's tennis is truly inspiring. So I feel very excited and very humbled to be sharing the court with her again.”
Excited and humbled, but focused on one thing: lifting the Venus Rosewater dish on Saturday.
“I've dreamed of it ever since I was a little girl, to be a Grand Slam champion,” Konta admitted after beating Halep.
“I think it makes it more special because it is home. I do get that home support, which I don't get anywhere else. In that sense, I guess it makes it that much sweeter.”
