Johanna Konta profile: Who is the British number one impressing at the Australian Open?

The Sydney-born tennis player is no overnight success

Johanna Konta after victory in Melbourne (GETTY IMAGES)

At last, British tennis fans have more than Andy Murray to pin their hopes on.

After impressing towards the back end of last year, Johanna Konta today became the first British female to reach the semi-final of a Grand Slam event since Jo Durie reached the last four at the US Open in 1983. With Murray also through, Britain has two semi-finalists in a Major for the first time since 1977.

So who is the 'new' star of British tennis?

Konta is now in her sixth year on the WTA tour, so describing her as 'new' would be inaccurate. However it's only recently that she has begun to make waves at the biggest tournaments. Her semi-final appearance at this year's Australian Open, which has been achieved with wins over eighth seed Venus Williams and 21st seed Ekaterina Makarova, follows on from her reaching the fourth round of the US Open at the end of last year.

Prior to that, she had never progressed beyond the first round at a Grand Slam except at the 2012 US Open when she reached the second round. She has no WTA titles to her name, although has won 11 ITF titles, the circuit below the WTA.

Johanna Konta during her quarter-final win (Getty Images)

Konta's form has been on an upward curve since last summer when she beat Makarova at Eastbourne. Her appointment of mental coach Juan Coto in the summer of 2014 has been credited as a factor in her change of fortunes. Coto, like Konta, refuses to put it down to one thing that saw things 'click', explaining earlier in the Australian Open: "She has also grown in confidence as a human being and a tennis player. The stability of her environment, her coach, the people around her, the consistency and routines has been very important. Johanna is a very confident individual but when you start getting very good results you develop that more and more."

Her mental strength was something she spoke about after reaching the semi-finals in Melbourne. “I felt I did quite a good job of removing any sort of occasion from the match,” she said. “I try to keep things in perspective.”

Whatever it is, Konta's rise has been remarkable. Having been ranked at 146 in the world last year, she is currently ranked at 47 and should move into the top 30 after the tournament and possibly higher if she continues to triumph in Melbourne.

(Getty Images)

After her efficient quarter-final win over Chinese qualifier Shuai Zhang, Konta described herself as “the female version of Jason Bourne”, a joke alluding to the fact she is the holder of three passports - one British, one Australian - she was born in Sydney - and one from her parents' homeland of Hungary.

Konta actually represented Australia up until 2012, before switch allegiances to the country she moved to at the age of 14 after receiving British citizenship.

Johanna Konta signs autographs after her secondround victory over Zheng Saisai (Reuters)

As well as mental strength, Konta's style has been noted for it's athleticism and power. Her forehand is as consistently powerful as that of world No 1 Serena Williams and her excellent serve and the aces it produces have played a major role in her recent run. She's also adept at covering the court.

In the semi-final, Konta will face German seventh seed Angelique Kerber.