By Adrianna Outlaw
Johanna Konta failed to go the distance, but still believes she can complete her major mission.
Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea upset the ninth-seeded Briton 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 sending Konta out of the US Open second round.
It’s the third time in the last four years Konta failed to survive the second round in New York.
The 2019 US Open quarterfinalist credited Cirstea, a former Roland Garros quarterfinalist, with outplaying her.
“I think my level was a lot higher than hers in the first set. But she’s a great player,” Konta said. “She’s had some pretty amazing results also in the past in her career. She’s capable of playing some very good tennis.
“She obviously raised her level. We were battling kind of toe-to-toe really. She just was better in the end.”
Konta dropped to 1-3 in three-setters this season and 44-45 in career three-set matches. She is the third Top 10 seed to fall at the second hurdle joining top-seeded Karolina Pliskova, who lost to Caroline Garcia yesterday, and 10th-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza, who bowed to Tsvetana Pironkova today, in falling from the field.
The 28-year-old Konta says she believes she can master a major.
“Yes, I do. That’s why I keep playing,” Konta said of her Grand Slam quest. “That’s why I keep training. Yes, I do.”
Three-time Grand Slam semifinalist Konta says she will definitely play Roland Garros later this month and is undecided on Rome though she believes she is able to travel to Rome without facing a quarantine on arrival.
“As far as I understand, I’m fairly certain that because I’m coming from an elite bubble to enter another elite bubble, i.e., the NTC when I go home, all I need to do is get a test done before I enter the NTC,” Konta said. “I do know to go to Italy, to go to Rome, you have to have a test done I think within 72 or 48 hours. I don’t know. I think it’s something like that. I think, yeah, I can, but I guess we’ll see.”
