French Open 2019: Johanna Konta plays down expectations but stands on brink of Grand Slam greatness

The Briton goes into her first semi-final at Roland Garros against Marketa Vondrousova with a wealth of factors in her favour

Johanna Konta will go into a Grand Slam semi-final as the favourite for the first time but insists that her meeting with Marketa Vondrousova here at the French Open on Friday is a “50-50” contest.

Konta, whose semi-final has been put back by 24 hours after Wednesday’s remaining quarter-finals were washed out, was the underdog in both her previous appearances in the last four of Grand Slam tournaments. The 28-year-old Briton lost in straight sets each time, to Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open in 2016 and to Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2017, but goes into her first semi-final at Roland Garros with a number of factors in her favour.

Although Vondrousova has had an excellent year and is one of the game’s outstanding prospects, the 19-year-old Czech will be playing in her first Grand Slam semi-final. She also lost her most recent meeting with Konta, on clay in Rome last month. Meanwhile Konta’s total of 16 tour-level clay-court victories this year cannot be bettered by any other woman.

Nevertheless, Konta insisted: “We all know that the landscape of our tour right now is not that black and white, with an underdog and a person expected to win. It’s more grey than black and white. I think that’s what’s so exciting. That’s fun.

“I lost to Vondrousova last year [at Indian Wells] and I just beat her two weeks ago. So I go into the match 50-50. There have been more upsets than not this year to prove that theory right: that when you go out on court, it’s 50-50 at the start.”

Billie Jean King, who was the champion here in 1972, believes that Konta is a better player now than she was two years ago, when her run to the Wimbledon semi-finals took her to No 4 in the world rankings.

“I think her concentration is better day in and day out,” King said. “I feel like some days she gets too hyped up, but she seems to be very calm right now. You want to have that in you if that’s who you are, but you have to know how to direct it.

“I can tell Konta has had a lot of therapy and I think it’s helped her. She’s quite clear now in her thoughts in what she wants to do and she just keeps improving - because she wants to. You can tell she wants to keep improving.”

King added: “I think she’s in the best position she’s ever been because she’s had more experience, she’s won more, she’s learned more. But she’s going to be hard put because she’s going to have to think because of [Vondrousova’s] creativity.”

Konta defeats Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals (Getty)

Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ coach, believes Konta should be ranked as a minimum in the world’s top 15. “I think her number one quality is her mentality,” he said. “She’s a fighter. She’s very intense in everything she’s doing. She has the same kind of mentality and tennis as Victoria Azarenka. She’s not someone who hits a lot of winners, but she imposes a really high rhythm with a lot of intensity and power.”

Konta, who will return to the world’s top 20 next week and would be back in the top 10 if she won the title, is the first British woman to reach the semi-finals here for 36 years. If she beats Vondrousova she will become the first British woman to play in the final since Sue Barker won the title in 1976. Until this year, remarkably, Konta had never won a match in the main draw here.

Konta has recovered from her slump in form (Getty ) (Getty)

Despite Konta’s remarkable results on clay in recent weeks, nobody should underestimate Vondrousova, the latest in a long line of Czech talent. In the course of 2017 she climbed 309 places in the world rankings to finish the year at No 67. After her progress stalled in 2018 as a result of injuries, she has made further leaps forward this year. The world No 38 has reached the quarter-finals or better of every tournament she has played since the Australian Open and has already beaten Simona Halep twice this year.

Vondrousova, who used to idolise Petra Kvitova and Kim Clijsters, has played on clay ever since she took up the sport at the age of four. The 19-year-old Czech pointed out that she was the same age as Jelena Ostapenko when the Latvian embarked on her remarkable run to the title here two years ago.

Marketa Vondrousova defeats Petra Martic in the quarter-finals (Getty)

As she demonstrated in her quarter-final victory over Petra Martic, Vondrousova has excellent variety in her game. She loves playing drop shots, can hit superb lobs and constructs her points with great intelligence. “I just try to play aggressively and mix up the points,” she said. “I just want to serve well and move well. I think all of this is my game.”

Wednesday’s bad weather could make life difficult for those in the other half of the draw. The quarter-finals between Halep and Amanda Anisimova and between Ashleigh Barty and Madison Keys will now be played on Thursday. With the semi-finals moved back 24 hours to Friday – when more rain is forecast incidentally – and the final scheduled for Saturday, it could mean that whoever emerges from that section of the draw will have to play three days in a row.