Johanna Konta is relishing a welcome feeling of normality as she prepares for the Australian Open.
The Sydney-born British No.1 will begin her 2021 season on Tuesday with a clash against American Bernarda Pera in the Gippsland Trophy at Melbourne Park before the year’s first grand slam begins next week.
The former Melbourne semi-finalist acknowledges she was one of the lucky players to be allowed out of quarantine for five hours a day to practise and complete her fitness drills.
The reward is being able to live largely without restrictions in a community that is currently coronavirus free.
“It’s the closest to feeling normal that we’ve probably had in almost a year,” she said.
“There’s still masks being worn generally, which is obviously not what we would have considered normal a year ago, but having the opportunity to go to restaurants, to see more people milling about, it definitely does give you a sense of normality.
“(On Saturday) we were walking down the street and there were people queuing up to go into bars and clubs and stuff. At one point we had to walk through a bit of a crowd of people and it was interesting.
“To me, it felt so nice to not be so worried to be around people. Not that I’m going to be getting chummy with a big group of people, but it was a nice feeling to be able to walk through and not think twice about it.”
Konta is looking forward to being able to see her sister and nephews, who will travel down from their home in Sydney at the weekend, while up to 30,000 fans will be allowed into Melbourne Park every day.
“That will be an absolute treat,” said the 29-year-old.
“Besides the French Open, where there were a few people here and there, we haven’t had any fans since the beginning of last year.
“I’ve always said it’s one of the things that I truly love about what I do.”
Konta held onto her position in the top 15 during 2020 but that was largely a result of changes to the ranking system, meaning players can count results from two years rather than one.
She began last season working her way back from a lengthy absence with a knee problem and was unable to find the consistent play that propelled her to two grand slam quarter-finals and one semi-final in 2019.
The knee remains an issue, but she said: “My management of it continues to get better and better and I’m still very hopeful that I’ll get to a point where I will be pain-free at some point.”
One reason for optimism is the resurrection of Konta’s coaching relationship with Dimitri Zavialoff.
Konta reunited with the Frenchman in November but he is not in Melbourne.
Konta has teamed up with boyfriend Jackson Wade and assistant coach Dan Smethurst – who is also her hitting partner – as the two team members she was permitted to bring with her.
“I really enjoy learning from Dimitri and that keeps me very excited to do what I do. I feel like it makes me a better tennis player,” said Konta.
