After a disappointing exit in the opening round of this year's French Open, British #1 Johanna Konta did not hold back in her assessment of who ought to share a portion of the blame.
The #22 seed in this year's second tennis slam, Konta was up against the #93 seed Yulia Putintseva. Going down to a disappointing straight sets loss, Konta targeted those in the British media who have continually highlighted her difficulties on the famous clay surface of the French Open.
Asked about external pressure on her performances when she arrived at this particular open, Konta urged the gathered journalists to "answer this for me,"
Let's say for a few years your pieces of writing have just been crap every time when you come into Roland Garros, right?
Just crap. And then your colleagues start to say, 'You know, you really suck around that time.'
Stating that she had never "found her rhythm" against Putintseva, Konta turned the tables on the judgmental journalists gathered:
How would you guys digest that, and would you feel any lingering kind of, ‘Oh, you know what? I want to prove these bastards wrong’, but it’s just lingering there.
So it’s not something I would like to buy into, and I don’t think I do. However, you guys don’t make it easy.
The pressure inflicted on British tennis players has been regularly demonstrated in the treatment of Andy Murray, but Konta, it seems, has had enough.
Quotes from The Times.
