Jo Konta is destined to win Wimbledon in her career after reaching the semi-finals at SW19 earlier this month, that’s according to former British No.1 Tim Henman.
Konta moved into the top five in the world after reaching the final four at Wimbledon, eventually losing to Venus Williams.
And after delivering the best performance at Wimbledon in her career, Henman is confident the 26-year-old will win a major title.
“She had been in the semi-final of a Grand Slam before but there’s a difference playing your home Slam,” said Henman, who was helping to launch HSBC Hour at Royal Birkdale this week; an initiative offering an hour of free golf to young people and families during the week of The Open.
“And her record at Wimbledon prior to that had not been brilliant so it was a great fortnight and something she can build on for the future.
“I think she can win a Slam, when you look at how her game has progressed in the past couple of years, she was ranked outside the top 150 and now she’s top five. She’s got a great head on her shoulders and she’s got a good game as well.”
Defending men’s champion Andy Murray was dumped out in the quarter-finals by the big serving American Sam Querrey after being plagued by a hip injury throughout the tournament.
Henman has now told the Scot he must be patient in his recovery as the 30-year-old attempts to get back to full fitness.
He said: “Murray did very well to get to where he did and sometimes you come into events with injuries and niggles and they can actually improve as the event goes on.
“But unfortunately, his was so severe that it deteriorated and to see him out there in those fourth and fifth sets against Querrey when he really had no chance was sad to see. He’s just got to get it right and get back to full fitness as soon as he can.
“He’s got to be patient, with a hip injury, when movement is such a big part of his game, he’s got to get it right and I know he’s seeing a lot of specialists to try and find the best course of treatment. He’s got a good team around him so I’m sure he’ll do that.”
After watching Murray and Konta in action at Wimbledon, Henman has been at The Open this week with HSBC.
HSBC Hour, now in its third year, gives young people the chance to experience golf for free during the week of The Open, with this year’s edition seeing around 300 clubs take part in the UK and Ireland with over 2,000 people set to receive free golf tuition.
He said: “I think that’s where tennis and golf have similarities about them, the accessibility and opportunity in getting more and more people playing the game.
“We always must try and take advantage of the buzz around Wimbledon but it’s about maintaining that and giving the youngsters the chance of playing in the future.
“With HSBC having 300 golf clubs around the country where people are going to get the opportunity to play, it’s fantastic. One thing in tennis that is challenging is the accessibility in clubs and that’s something that must be looked at.
“I think tennis in schools is difficult, it’s much easier to have 22 kids on a football pitch than it is to have four on a tennis court, if it’s going to be hard in schools it emphasises that your structure at clubs has to be even better.”
Tim Henman was talking on behalf of The Open patron HSBC. HSBC are offering free golf during the week of The Open. For more information, please visit: https://www.theopen.com/HSBCHour
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here