Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Wimbledon: Johanna Konta ‘almost bit off own tongue’ at 2019 tournament

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Konta’s success against second seed Halep made her Britain’s first women’s singles Wimbledon semi-finalist since 1978.

“The roof was closed so the acoustics of it, everything felt like it was coming to boiling point,” she said.

“It was like a real gladiatorial arena. It felt epic and the crowd was getting really excited, probably the most rowdy I’ve ever felt a Wimbledon crowd. It was very intense.”

Konta was born in Sydney and lived in Australia until the age of 14, when she moved with her parents to England.

Her parents live in Eastbourne, in Sussex, and her first apartment is close to Wimbledon.

She said playing sport “was always on the cards” with her parents and she began playing tennis at school in Sydney when she was eight years old.

After initially representing Australia, she changed her allegiance to Great Britain in 2012 when she was granted citizenship, going on to play for Team GB at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and reaching the semi-finals of three Grand Slams.

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