The British no. 1 Johanna Konta will finish inside the top-15 for the third time in four years after another well-balanced season. Nonetheless, Konta will not fight for the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai next week, withdrawing due to an ongoing knee injury and closing the season one week earlier than she expected. After a mediocre 2018, Johanna picked up her game again this year, kicking it off from just inside the top-40 and earning enough points to almost find herself in the top-10 and repeat the success of 2016 and 2017, something she probably could have done had she played after the US Open.
The Sydney native had made a slow start in Australia (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne) before reaching the quarter-final in Acapulco and the third round at Indian Wells, followed by more heroic wins in the Fed Cup against Kazakhstan in April. Clay was never her favorite surface but it indeed became this spring, with Johanna reaching the final in Rabat and another one in Rome, losing those to Maria Sakkari and Karolina Pliskova respectively and boosting confidence for Roland Garros. Never winning a match in Paris in the last four years, the Briton delivered five impressive victories to reach the semi-final, losing it to Marketa Vondrousova in two tight sets after a titanic battle.
Switching her focus on grass, Johanna hit early exit door in Birmingham and Eastbourne before embracing another deep Major run, ousting Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova to reach the quarter-final in front of the home fans, halted by Barbora Strycova in straight sets. Toronto and Cincinnati brought her nothing good and Johanna made one last push in New York, advancing into the third consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final where Elina Svitolina toppled her 6-4, 6-4 in what turned out to be the final match of the season for the top-ranked British player.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2J2zkMf
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