Almost five years after turning her back on Australia, Johanna Konta is now just one tennis win away from marking her territory on her old stumping ground.
The world No.10 will be gunning for just her second career title when she faces off against heavy favourite Agnieszka Radwanska in the Sydney International final on Friday.
Victory over the world No.3 would be just reward for the 25-year-old, who has embarked on a rapid ascension into the women’s elite for the past two years.
This time last season, she fell agonisingly short of a maiden grand slam final at the Australian Open, before going on to finish a stunning year with a ranking inside the top-10.
Having ended 2014 as world No.150, some Australians label Konta as the one that got away.
“It’s the way the cookie crumbles. Honestly, I think it’s always important to always appreciate the good things you guys do have, and you have some good players,” Konta said.
“It was just the way things were meant to be. This will always be the country of my birth. That won’t change. I’m always really actually proud to say that, as well. I enjoy coming back here.
“But my home is Great Britain and my heart lies there, and I feel very proud when I’m representing Great Britain.”
Despite being born and raised in Sydney, Konta has found herself against the local support for most of the week at the Olympic Park tennis centre.
She faced two Australians in the first two rounds before coming up against popular Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in the semi-final, who she easily dispatched 6-2 6-2 on Thursday.
“I have played obviously two Australian girls in the first two rounds, so obviously they have the majority of the support. And Genie has got a massive following,” she said.
“So I don’t think I have been winning in the support side.”
However, Konta isn’t without support, enjoying having up to a dozen family and friends in her box at Homebush.
It’s what has made this specific Australian Open warm-up event more special than most.
“I think it’s always nice to go back to a place where you have memories from before. I think that’s always a special thing, even if you only lived in a place for a couple of years,” she said.
Konta takes on Radwanska in the feature match on Friday night. Viktor Troicki meets Gilles Muller and Daniel Evans plays Andrey Kuznetsov in the men’s semi-finals.
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