Johanna Konta's route to US Open glory mapped out

Johanna Konta returns to the scene of her breakout appearance this week when she bids for her first major title as a genuine contender at the US Open.

The 26-year-old burst into the public's consciousness in 2015 when she came through qualifying to beat Garbine Muguruza and Andrea Petkovic on her way to the fourth round.

She then repeated that run last year, but after reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon in June, Konta is one of eight women who could end the tournament on top of the world rankings and following the withdrawal of Andy Murray, she stands as the leading British hope at Flushing Meadows.

Here, we track Konta's potential route to glory in New York...

First round: Aleksandra Krunic - World Ranking 77, US Open Best: R4 (2014)

Krunic, who was born in Moscow but represents Serbia, enjoyed her best Grand Slam run in the 2014 US Open when she beat third seed Petra Kvitova on her way to the fourth round. But that 6-4 6-4 win three years ago was the 24-year-old's only success over a top-10 player and she is yet to crack the top 50 of the women's game. Don't expect her to provide any undue early concern for Konta as she looks to hit her stride.

Second round: Johanna Larsson - World Ranking 59, US Open Best: R3 (2015)

Assuming Larsson dispatches world No 227 Ajla Tomljanovic in their first-round meeting, Konta will face the Swede in the second round. Larsson, 29, has one singles title to her name on the WTA Tour having finally won the Swedish Open in 2015 after three previous runners-up appearances. She has two wins over top-10 players, the latest being a 7-6 6-1 victory over Roberta Vinci in New Haven last year.

Third round: Julia Goerges - World Ranking 32, US Open Best: R3 (2011)

Although she has been as high as world No 15, Julia Goerges has never been past the fourth round in a Grand Slam event. Seeded 30, she will be potentially the first seeded opponent for Konta, who will be aware of the danger posed by the German after losing 6-2 6-3 on the clay in Paris in the first round of the French Open in 2016. Georges' two career WTA titles came in 2010 and 2011, but she's shown some good form recently having reached the quarter-finals in Cincinnati thanks to top-10 wins over Agnieszka Radwanska and Elina Svitolina.

Fourth round: Ana Konjuh - World Ranking 20, US Open Best: QF (2016)

Projections start to get a bit sketchy here, but there will certainly be an upward curve in the quality of opponent by the end of the first week, with 11th seed Dominika Cibulkova perhaps the obvious pick. Home favourite Sloane Stephens also features in this section, but Croatian teenager Ana Konjuh has two wins over top-10 opponents this year - against Konta in the Fed Cup and over Cibulkova at Wimbledon in June, when she reached the fourth round. Konjuh reached the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows last year and would provide a stiff test to Konta's bid to make it into the second week.

Quarter-finals: Simona Halep - World Ranking 2, US Open Best: SF (2015)

Simona Halep must navigate her way past the returning Mario Sharapova in the first round - not an easy task given the second seed has lost all six of her meetings with the Russian - but if she does manage to finally best Sharapova, expect Halep to be Konta's opponent in the last eight in New York. The two have recent form against each other, with Halep beating Konta 6-4 7-6 on her way to the final in Cincinnati earlier this month, but Konta has won their three other meetings, two of which came on hard court. The other clash came in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon this year, which saw Konta come from a set down to book her place in the last four and prove her Grand Slam nerve.

Semi-finals: Garbine Muguruza - World Ranking 3, US Open Best: R2 (2015, 2016)

Should Konta get past Halep, Garbine Muguruza is the favourite to be lying in wait. The 23-year-old, born in Venezuela but representing Spain, has never been past the second round in New York, but that looks certain to change this year. The Wimbledon champion is the favourite for the big prize here after showing fine form in the build-up. She needed just 57 minutes to dispatch Halep in the final in Cincinnati, proving that although she says clay is her "home", she's just as dangerous on the hard court. There is hope for Konta, though, as she has two wins from their three meetings, including in the second round here in 2015.

Final: Karolina Pliskova - World Ranking 1, US Open Best: F (2016)

And so to the final, where Karolina Pliskova could be all that stands between Konta and a maiden Grand Slam title. The Czech right-hander is a year younger than Konta, but was confirmed as world No 1 in July and reached the final in New York last year, where she lost to Angelique Kerber despite being 3-1 up in the final set. Pliskova has the advantage over Konta in their head-to-heads, winning five of the six meetings, although Konta's one success came on the hard court in Beijing last year.

Sky Sports Tennis will have all the action from the US Open covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with our live blogs and updates throughout the fortnight as the Grand Slam year reaches its climax.

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