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Great Britain’s Johanna Konta wins first Masters 1000 title, career high ranking

By Veronica Elizabeth Bruno

KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 01: Johanna Konta of Great Britain celebrates with the trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the final at Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 1, 2017 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 01: Johanna Konta of Great Britain celebrates with the trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the final at Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 1, 2017 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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With Saturday’s major win in Miami over Caroline Wozniacki, Great Britain’s Johanna Konta moves up in the WTA rankings, clinching the new No. 7 spot.

A tennis player who didn’t qualify for the Key Biscayne tournament in 2015, Johanna Konta has moved up the rankings quickly in the last year, winning three titles along the way. At 25, she is considering somewhat of a late bloomer, which in tennis doesn’t seem to be much of a problem nowadays (think Serena, Venus and Roger).

The no-nonsense champion has been making the case that she’s a force to be reckoned with since she seriously came onto the scene two years ago, including a quarterfinals finish in the Rio Olympics last summer and the semis of the Australian Open this year. Now she’s won her first Masters title. Buzz has been brewing about the Great Brit as she’s gone from 150 to breaking into the top 50 in 2015, then finished No. 10 at the end of 2016 and progressed even higher to a career first of 7. She’s an intelligent, powerful mover in the women’s game and will likely continue to be a threat on the tour.

“She played really aggressively,” Wozniacki said to ESPN.com after playing the Brit in the final. “She takes the ball early and stresses her opponents.”

The 25-year old has the reputation of being a hard worker and it’s clear her work ethic is started to generate serious results.

“I always had the belief that I want to be a Grand Slam champion,” she said after her match in Miami. “That stays throughout your career. Then it’s all about keeping things simple and working hard.”

With results like Saturday’s and almost making the Australian Open finals, I’m sure we will be seeing the gritty player in a grand slam final very soon.

Now that Konta has achieved No. 7, she is targeting the top spot, currently held by Angelique Kerber, who ousted her in the Olympic quarterfinals.

“I’d like to be the best player in the world but there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then,” she said to the BBC.

Similar to Andy Murray, Konta is putting in hard work later in her career to get to the top form she is in now, including working with new coach Wim Fissette, which seems to be paying off.

“She has big ground strokes, not many weaknesses, and I also saw her as somebody who is very hard-working and very disciplined,” Fissette said to BBC Sport while Konta was competing at the Melbourne grand slam.

“I started working with her because I really believe she can win a Grand Slam if she keeps getting better like this.”

There is a lot of talk about the world No. 7 being a major contender for the Wimbledon title. The last British woman who won the championship was Virginia Wade in 1977.

Konta announced Monday that she would be withdrawing from her next tournament in Charleston, SC, due to a shoulder injury and needed recovery time.

“I was battling a slight shoulder injury and sickness during Miami which has taken hold since the end of the tournament,” she explained to BBC Sport.

Considering how she recovers and how serious the injury is, she is likely to bounce back strong later in the season. The Key Biscayne winner will probably continue her meteoric rise in the WTA and continue adding more titles this year and beyond.

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