Johanna Konta happy with problem-solving at Cincy and hopes heart issues are something of the past

Shahida Jacobs
August 25, 2020

Johanna Konta believes her heart palpitations “probably won’t happen for a long time again” after returning to winning ways at the Western & Southern Open.

In her first match after the WTA Tour restart a fortnight ago, the British No 1 required a medical timeout for an erratic heart rate during her first-round defeat against Marie Bouzkova in Kentucky.

However, she had no such problems during her match against Kirsten Flipkens at Flushing Meadows on Monday as she brushed aside the Belgian 6-2, 6-0.

“I am happy with how I think problem-solved out there and played in general,” Konta said after the match.

“I think I obviously made it quite difficult for Kirsten to get a foothold in the match. I give myself a bit of credit for that. I’m really pleased to have gotten a win. Obviously the first one since Monterrey, which was six months ago. So it was a long time ago.”

The world No 15, who will face Russian veteran Vera Zvonareva in the third round, is also confident that her heart problems are now something of the past.

“I haven’t gone for any more tests since then,” she said. “I think they will happen more when I’m at home…

“Obviously I had two episodes reasonable close together, but before that I hadn’t experienced in since 2018. So I think there is plenty of room to give it when it probably won’t happen, knock on wood, for a long time again.”

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Johanna Konta