US Open 2018: Johanna Konta determined to end Grand Slam slump by breaking back into world’s top 32

The former world No 4 dropped out of the US Open seeds events and has won just two Grand Slam matches since reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals last year

Johanna Konta never likes to set herself specific ranking targets but the 27-year-old Briton surely needs to get back into the world’s top 32 by the end of this year in order to rebuild her Grand Slam career.

Konta’s 6-2, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Caroline Garcia in the first round of the US Open here on Tuesday was the latest in a series of disappointments for the former world No 4. Since reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon last summer she has won only two matches in her five subsequent Grand Slam tournaments.

With Konta dropping to No 46 in the world, this was the first Grand Slam event where she had not been seeded since the 2016 Australian Open. At Grand Slam tournaments the 32 seeds are guaranteed not to meet another seed until the third round. Konta had the misfortune here to be drawn against Garcia, the world No 6, in the opening round.

Asked if a place in the world’s top 32 was an immediate goal for her, Konta said: “I'm playing to get higher in the rankings. I'm playing to move up to be at the top of the game.

“Obviously my goal will be to go deep into the tournaments to give myself that chance of moving up the rankings. I definitely don't put any limit or specific number in mind, but I am working towards that. That's where I put my work into, to move in an upward trajectory.”

Konta is entered into four more tournaments this year – Tokyo, Wuhan, Beijing and Moscow – and still has hopes of reaching the year-ending WTA Elite Trophy tournament in Zhuhai. The tournament brings together the next 12 players beneath the eight who qualify for the WTA Finals.

“I think there’s still a lot to play for,” Konta said. “Today doesn't take away from the good matches that I've played here in the hard-court summer. I think I've played a lot of good tennis against the best players in the world.”

Johanna Konta lost to Caroline Garcia in the first round of the US Open (Getty)

Konta also said she had lost to some of the game’s best players in Grand Slam tournaments this year. She pointed out that Yulia Putintseva had gone on to reach the quarter-finals at the French Open, that Dominika Cibulkova had made the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and that Garcia was the current world No 6.

After enjoying the best seasons of her career in 2016 and 2017 with Esteban Carril and Wim Fissette as her coaches, Konta ended both years by parting company with them. That could bring Michael Joyce’s position into question, the American having taken over as her coach at the end of last year.

Konta said she would continue working with Joyce “as long as we feel it’s mutually beneficial”. She said she was “happy with the relationship”, felt they were doing “good work” together and added: “Coming into this year I was in a very unhappy place. The number one job was to get me into a happy place. I feel definitely that we've achieved that.

Konta has won just two matches in her last five Grand Slam tournaments (AP)

“That's already a massive win, because that gives me the desire to play and the desire to work hard and compete, to put myself in those wonderful positions out there that every player does when they step out on the court. I want to be in that environment. That already is a massive personal win for me.

“I feel that we are clear on my game, and we're putting in the work to try to make me the best player that I can be, for sure. Whether the results will come now or in a few months, or whether they don't, I don't know. But it's definitely not for a lack of trying.”