Johanna Konta defeated former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the final of the Miami Open on Saturday afternoon to claim the biggest title of her career. Playing in just her second Miami Open, the Australian-born Brit toppled No. 12 seed Wozniacki, 6-4, 6-3, in 95 minutes on Florida’s south coast.
Here’s a little more info about this rising women's star.
The Johanna Konta File
Age: 25
Height: 5-11
Residence: Eastbourne, England
Current Rank: 7
Career-High Rank: 7 (April 2017)
Best 2016 Series Finish: Champion (Stanford)
The Baseline
- The victory in Miami gives Konta her third career title. She previously triumphed in Sydney in January and at the US Open Series event in Stanford, Calif., last summer. Konta has also contested one other final, in Beijing in 2016.
- Konta is now 19-3 in 2017 and she has won 16 of her past 18 matches. She reached the semifinals in the season-opening tournament in Shenzhen, China, claimed the trophy the following week in Sydney, advanced to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the round of 32 at Indian Wells. At this stage last year, Konta was 13-7, while in 2015 she was ranked outside the Top 140 and was playing USTA Pro Circuit events in Surprize, Ariz., and Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
- In addition to her title in Stanford last year, Konta reached the quarterfinals at the Series event in Montreal and the round of 16 in Cincinnati.
- Konta broke out at the 2015 US Open, coming through qualifying to reach the round of 16. During her surprise run at Flushing Meadows, the Brit recorded victories over world No. 9 Garbiñe Muguruza and No. 18 Andrea Petkovic before falling to fourth-ranked Petra Kvitova. Her performance in New York catapulted her more than 30 spots up the ranks, to No. 66 in the world, and helped her finish the season at a career-high No. 47. Prior to that year, she ended each of the three previous seasons ranked between 112th and 153rd. Konta finished 2016 ranked No. 10.
- She has a career winning record against Top 10 players, going 12-9 against the game’s elite. Among the top players over whom Konta has prevailed are seven-time major champion Venus Williams (who she also beat in Thursday’s semifinals in Miami), Simona Halep, Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Karolina Pliskova.
- Konta has represented the British national team several times over the past four years, including on the Fed Cup team from 2013-15 and at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
They said it!
"I think it was most important to not wish time away, to really stay in the moment and enjoy every single point I got to play out here. It wasn’t easy for either of us. Conditions were tough, it was very hot and humid and obviously it was at the end of a hard, difficult fortnight, so I think staying in the present and trying to keep the game plan clear in my head. To be honest, I couldn’t kind of believe it was over because I was so focused on just trying for every single point. I was convinced one more point was coming. I guess where we go from here is to continue working hard. I guess that’s what I love most about this sport, trying to get better every day.” - Konta, during her on-court interview after llifting the trophy in Miami on Saturday.