Johanna Konta's focus remains on one game at a time

25 September 2016 10:08

British number one Johanna Konta will not allow her philosophy on life to be compromised by getting distracted by her position in the race for the end-of-season finals in Singapore.

Konta has had a superb 2016 so far, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open, the fourth round of the US Open, winning her first WTA Tour event and surging up the rankings, and that sees her 10th in the race, with the top eight reaching the showpiece tournament next month.

A good run at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open this week followed by more success in Beijing next week could see her surpass Madison Keys and Carla Suarez Navarro on the leaderboard and become the first British women to qualify for the tournament since Virgina Wade in 1980.

However, throughout her rise towards the top of the women's game over the last 12 months the 24-year-old has never spoken about her goals in a results-related manner.

And with such an achievement in the landscape of women's British tennis within touching distance, Konta is not about to change her way now.

"(The race) is not something that I am actively thinking about, it is a result of something else," she told Press Association Sport.

"As long as I focus on the matches I am playing at the time, the here and the now, I will give myself the best chance of competing there.

"If it is in the cards for me, it is in the cards for me, if it's not then it's not. I am just really happy to be where I am at this stage of the season, I am in good physical shape and we will just see where that takes me.

"It wouldn't be a productive thing for me to be thinking about because it isn't part of my philosophy of how I work and train on a daily basis.

"If I veer off that I find myself in a thought process that I don't want to be in. I am always very conscientiousness and vigilant in how I keep my mind and what thought processes I have.

"It would be a great achievement but a lot can still happen. If it happens it happens, if it doesn't it doesn't.

"I don't want to put myself in a position where I would be disappointed if I didn't make it. I can still finish the year and say, 'You know what I still did really well'. It might not be enough to make Singapore but I don't want that to take anything away. It's my process of working, it's how I live, it's how I do things in my career.

"I do have goals, they are not results-orientated, they are not ranking targets they are personal goals. They are knowing that whatever happens on the court I have the ability to handle it. There is a lot thrown at you on court at this level."

It was in Wuhan last year where Konta made people sit up and notice by building on her surprise run to the US Open fourth round and reaching the quarter-finals.

She eventually lost a titanic battle with Venus Williams, who she has since beaten twice this year, and hopes to go deep into the tournament again, with German Annika Beck lying in wait.

"That match against Venus last year was a highlight, I actually had some very good matches throughout the tournament last year," she added. "That's no indication of how well I will do this year but I am going to enjoy it again and give it my best and see how far that takes me.

"Whoever I would have drawn here, there are no easy matches. I am looking forward to getting started, I will be going out there and hoping to take care of things at my end and see where that gets me."

Source: PA