JOHANNA KONTA is too pragmatic to take any match in a Grand Slam main draw for granted but after her experience at Wimbledon, when she lost to Maria Sharapova in her opening match, the prospect of a first-round encounter against teenager Louisa Chirico, the recipient of a wildcard, is one she will relish.
Even though Konta, the 24 year-old born in Sydney, is on a 13-match winning run and Chirico’s build-up for the US Open has amounted to three disappointments in the qualifying rounds in Toronto, Cincinnati and New Haven, there will not be a sense of complacency.
According to Judy Murray, the British Fed Cup captain, the influence of a sports psychologist has turned Konta into a more rational competitor. This, allied to the influence of Spanish coaches Esteban Carril and Jose-Manuel Garcia, has fuelled expectations she will rapidly overtake her current career-best ranking of 89.
Currently in 96th position, Konta sits 24 places above Chirico, who will have the advantage of home support as she lives just a 20-minute drive away from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows but is making her full debut in her home major after twice falling short in qualifying.
“Nowadays I don’t really take too much notice of what has happened in the past, I prefer to stay in the present and I feel I am benefiting,” said Konta, who, prior to winning three rounds of qualifying, warmed up with a couple of second-tier Challenger titles in Canada, at Granby and Vancouver. “ I have now got quite a number of matches under my belt on these sorts of hard courts so I am in what you might call a match routine.”
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Konta will have some assistance in preparation for the match from Fed Cup teammate Heather Watson, who lost to Chirico 6-3,6-0 in Washington DC at the start of the month. Watson will be hoping to fare considerably better in her first-round tie with 43rd-ranked American Lauren Davis. Laura Robson plays the Russian Elena Vesnina.