Konta refuses to be burdened by expectations

LONDON: British number one Johanna Konta is not going to burden herself with expectations during the Wimbledon and would rather focus on giving her best during next month’s grasscourt grand slam.

Konta excelled in the first few tournaments of the year, winning the Sydney International and the Miami Open, but the 26-year-old failed to shine on clay and lost in the first round of the French Open to Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan.

With the grasscourt season beginning with the Aegon Open on June 14 followed by Wimbledon in July, Konta said she does not feel any extra pressure to add to her three WTA titles.

“I am not feeling any more expectation than previous years. My own expectations in terms of how I want to do have stayed the same,” Konta told reporters ahead of her first match at Nottingham.

“I can only ever do my best so where my best on the day will take me, will take me. I try to approach every game the same.”

The world number eight said Jelena Ostapenko’s French Open win underlined the depth of women’s tennis.

The 20-year-old Latvian fought back from a set and 3-0 down to blaze past the experienced Simona Halep 4-6 6-4 6-3 and become her country’s first grand slam champion.

“There is a lot of depth in women’s tennis and she (Ostapenko) is the perfect example of that,” Konta said.