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Johanna Konta looking forward to Fed Cup after Australian Open exit

"It's a bit frustrating, but I'm still taking good stuff from this. I don't feel, by any means, it's a massive catastrophe"

A disappointed Johanna Konta of Great Britain walks off the court after losing her second round match against Bernarda Pera
Image: Johanna Konta walks off the court after suffering a disappointing early exit in Melbourne

Britain's Johanna Konta felt her Australian Open exit to world No 123 Bernarda Pera was not a "massive catastrophe" and remains confident she is heading in the right direction.

Konta looked in good form in her opening win over Madison Brengle but struggled to find her game in very hot conditions at Melbourne Park and came up against an inspired opponent, who claimed a 6-4 7-5 victory.

Konta suffers shock Melbourne exit
Konta suffers shock Melbourne exit

Johanna Konta suffers Australian Open exit at the hands of lucky loser Bernarda Pera

Pera, a Croatian-born American ranked 123, had never even played in a Grand Slam tournament let alone won a match before arriving in Australia and appeared to be going home after losing to Viktorija Golubic in the final round of qualifying only to be given a second chance when Margarita Gasparyan withdrew.

There was no doubt the 23-year-old played well above her ranking, while ninth-ranked Konta, who had been tipped as one of the contenders for the title in a wide open field after reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals in the last two years, showed more sign of the anxiety issues that have stemmed from the five-match losing sequence with which she finished 2017.

Konta said: "I think she played very inspired and I didn't quite do as much as I wanted. I think in the points I did okay, and I think I stayed quite strong. But I don't think I did enough with my service games, and I don't think I did enough with my returns.

"It's a bit frustrating, but I'm still taking good stuff from this. I don't feel, by any means, it's a massive catastrophe. I play every event to be there until the end, so I definitely don't want to be going home this early.

"But I think in terms of building myself back up again and then playing the way I want to play, I think I keep moving forward."

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Johanna Konta of Great Britain complains about the surface of the court after falling in her second round match

Konta has been open about the struggles she went through at the end of last season and made an encouraging start to the new year by reaching the quarter-finals in Brisbane before a hip problem struck.

The difference in the Konta who reached the quarter-finals here last season and the last four of Wimbledon was all too clear to see, and she knows the only way to address her issues is to win matches.

"There is no substitute," she said. "I think you obviously look to keep improving your game through training, but to be match fit and have that feel in points and feel in the way the match flows, and that almost not thinking belief in what you do in certain points, that comes with matches. And also coming through tough matches."

Konta's immediate plan was to head home before linking up with the Great Britain Fed Cup team for a week of Europe/Africa Zone competition early next month.

The 26-year-old, who began working with new coach Michael Joyce in the off-season, remains confident she is heading in the right direction.

She said: "I'm definitely looking forward to Fed Cup. I'm actually looking forward to just continuing to play.

"I didn't play very much in the last six months of last year, so I think I'm where I'm meant to be right now in my level. I feel it is getting better with each match that I'm playing. I'm figuring things out and enjoying doing it."

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