It was game, set and match in the glamour stakes for the Aegon GB Fed Cup team as they swapped their tennis whites for scarlet show-stoppers. And while the ladies in red proudly served up a storm with winning hair-dos and vertiginous black court shoes, Britain's top female singles player Johanna Konta spoke to HELLO! about her elation at landing the biggest title of her career at the Miami Open in April and of her plans to fulfil her ultimate tennis dream.
"It was just incredible," she said of her stunning victory to become the first Briton to win the event. "The crowd was fantastic and I had a great time." Jo beat seven-time Slam winner Venus Williams in the semi-finals and then overpowered former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to secure her second title this year.
Red alert: The Aegon GB Fed Cup team (from left) Heather Watson, Johanna Konta, captain Anne Keothavong, Jocelyn Rae, Laura Robson and Katie Swan
"Ever since I was a little girl, my dream has always been to win titles and be No. 1 in the world. It will always be that as long as I'm playing tennis and I'm doing everything in my power to make it come true," she said.
Now ranked seventh in the world, the 5ft 11in golden girl is Britain's brightest hope in women's tennis in four decades. Although she is yet to win one of the four Slam titles, which include Wimbledon, her odds of winning at SW19 in the summer improved sharply last week when seven-time champion Serena Williams announced she would not be playing for the rest of the year because she is pregnant.
"Winning Wimbledon would be a childhood dream come true," said 25-year-old Jo. For now, however, the tennis ace is focusing on team time with the Fed Cup squad – reigning Wimbledon mixed doubles champion Heather Watson, 24, Laura Robson, 23, Jocelyn Rae, 26, Katie Swan, 18, and their non-playing team captain, Anne Keothavong.
Johanna Konta landed the biggest title of her career at the Miami Open in April
A win in last weekend's five-match tie in Romania would have seen Britain back in the elite World Group for the first time in 24 years - but it was not to be as they lost 3-2. "There's a real difference between singles tennis and working as part of a team," said Jo. "You don't just think about yourself, which is good. The normal tour is quite a selfish existence, so this is a great chance to step outside of that and be conscious about how your team-mates are doing.
"You're all in it together, which means you get to know them better, not just on court but off court, too. We're always playing games during our downtime and there's a great atmosphere."
Jo credits her Hungarian-born parents – Gabor, a hotel manager, and Gabriella, a dentist – with keeping her grounded and helping her reach the top of her game.
"When I started training at the age of eight, my dad used to encourage me," she said. "I was so keen that I used to wake him up very early every morning for us to go running."
Johanna proudly poses with her Miami Open trophy after defeating former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
Family is also important to Jo and she hopes one day to have one of her own. "I would love a big family," she told HELLO! last year. "I have this vision in my mind where I have four or five children, and then, when I'm in my 60s, it’s Christmas and all my kids come home with their spouses and lots of grandchildren. By the end of it, there are 40 to 50 people in my house and I look around, feeling totally happy, surrounded by my family."
See the Aegon GB Fed Cup Team across the grass court season. Visit www.lta.org.uk/major-events for details of tournaments and tickets).
