After her disastrous end to 2017, #JohannaKonta’s poor form was carried into 2018 and it ultimately became her burden throughout the majority of the year as the Brit fell out of the top-40 in the rankings despite beginning the year as the world number nine. Konta was unable to find her best tennis consistently and despite coming under scrutiny from the media, she continued to give it her all and looks to elevate her ranking next year.
Konta amassed a disappointing 28-23 (.549) win-loss record in 2018, reaching just four WTA quarterfinals as she was just an inch away from dropping out of the top-50 at one point in time. With her ranking plummeting, Konta’s confidence experienced a huge blow but one astonishing statistic hurt even more — owning a 0-9 win-loss record against players ranked inside the top-10.
High Points of 2018
Despite her horrid season, it was a bright start to 2018 for Konta. She beat Madison Keys in a blockbuster first-round match at the Brisbane International but her campaign came to an abrupt end when the Brit sprained her hip during her quarterfinal clash with doubles partner Elina Svitolina despite playing a flawless match — with the score being 6-1, 6-7, 2-3 and not being broken throughout the entire duration.
Konta then played a pivotal role in Great Britain’s match against Japan in the Fed Cup World Group II playoffs. The Brit was handed the huge responsibility of leading the team, and she gave it her all as she claimed two impressive and straightforward wins over Kurumi Nara and Naomi Osaka. However, that was not enough as Heather Watson lost both of her singles matches, and ultimately they lost the decisive doubles rubber.
Grass has always been Konta’s best surface — and she had a confidence-boosting run to start the British summer after storming to the final of the Nature Valley Open without losing a set in the process. Despite just narrowly falling short to Ashleigh Barty in a high-quality final, Konta’s prospects were bright but a couple of tough draws completely ruined her momentum in the following weeks.
Konta started the US Open Series with a bang — thrashing 23-time Major champion Serena Williams with a groundbreaking 6-1, 6-0 scoreline after less than an hour of play, handing the legendary American the worst loss of her storied career. Although she was ultimately defeated by Elise Mertens in the last eight of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, it was an encouraging run for Konta who still had the ability to trouble the top players in her.
Part of another mouth-watering first-round clash at the Rogers Cup, Konta earned her best win of 2018 (in terms of ranking) against world number 11 Jelena Ostapenko in three tough sets before following it up with yet another spectacular performance against two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka.
Amidst all her struggles this year, Konta managed to end the year on a high note as the Brit looked to carry the momentum into the new year. Upsetting world number 16 Elise Mertens in surprisingly comfortable fashion, Konta’s confidence rose when she claimed back-to-back three-set wins over Daria Gavrilova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup, where she came off second-best against eventual champion and home favourite Daria Kasatkina.
Low Points of 2018
Entering the packed field of the Apia International Sydney as the defending champion, Konta drew Agnieszka Radwanska in a blockbuster first-round match, a repeat of last year’s final. However, this time the Pole managed to turn the tables and prevail in straight sets, causing the Brit to fall at the first hurdle of her title defence. An outstanding Australian swing in 2017 was the highlight of Konta’s previous season, but this time she was stunned in the second round of the Australian Open by qualifier Bernarda Pera in straight sets which sealed her exit from the top-10.
Konta’s poor form continued to bother her — early exits in both the Qatar Total Open and Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships saw her confidence experience a huge blow, especially her loss to Daria Kasatkina in the latter having wasted multiple match points.
The North American hard court swing was where Konta was expected to flourish. Disappointment followed as the Brit was upset by the giant-killing youngster Marketa Vondrousova in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Open before she was stunned by Venus Williams in the fourth round of the Miami Open, and failed to defend her Premier Mandatory title as a result. This loss saw her drop out of the world’s top-20 for the first time in almost two years.
Clay is Konta’s least-preferred surface and the Brit, as expected, struggled through the entire clay season. She was shocked by world number 219 qualifier Fanny Stollar in the first round of the Volvo Car Open and that kickstarted a tough stretch of results for her. Although she picked up two top-20 wins at both the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL D’Italia against Magdalena Rybarikova on both occasions, early exits followed and Konta entered Roland Garros with her game coming under fire. Fortunately for the Brit, her nightmares finally ended with a first-round loss to eventual quarterfinalist Yulia Putintseva at the French Open.
After a bright start to the grass court season, Konta was handed several tough losses against quality opponents in her next tournaments. She was given a series of tough draws; first starting with a first-round loss to eventual champion Petra Kvitova at the Nature Valley Classic before falling to yet another eventual champion, Caroline Wozniacki, in Eastbourne. Carrying the home hopes at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Konta fell to a disappointing straight-sets loss to former top-10 player Dominika Cibulkova in the second round of Wimbledon.
Konta suffered from nine opening round exits this year, and one of them came at the Western and Southern Open. The Brit has always struggled against players who are more powerful, and therefore her first-round loss to Aryna Sabalenka should not be a huge surprise but it was a huge pity considering Konta led by a set and a break.
Just before the US Open arrived, Konta suffered from a huge scare when she was down with a viral illness, which forced her to give a walkover in the second round of the Connecticut Open despite a bright start to her campaign. Unsure whether the illness affected the Brit in Flushing Meadows, Konta fell to a quick 2-6, 2-6 loss to Caroline Garcia and failed to put up a serious challenge.
The Asian swing always cost Konta a place in the WTA Finals for the past two years, and despite not being in contention this year, she still failed to pick up some good wins in Asia. Three consecutive losses came against Donna Vekic, Ashleigh Barty, and Julia Goerges in Tokyo, Wuhan, and Beijing respectively.
Season Grade: C-
Although there were patches of brilliance from Konta, she was unable to maintain her high level of aggressive tennis consistently throughout the season. On many occasions, Konta’s hard-hitting tennis was able to be exposed by the more crafty players and she would be unable to change her game plan.
She needs to take the off-season and return to the drawing board with her new coach Dimitri Zavialoff, whom she recently hired after the Kremlin Cup after working together on a trial basis in Moscow. With a renewed mindset and less pressure weighing on her shoulders, Konta will enter 2019 as an underdog and this title might be a blessing in disguise.
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