Johanna Konta: Five things you didn’t know about British tennis’ new star

Britain's Johanna Konta signs autographs after winning her fourth round match against Russia's Ekaterina Makarova at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, Australia, January 25, 201Show more

Johanna Konta became the first British female in nearly 32 years to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam after beating Ekaterina Makarova in the last-16 of the Australian Open.

Jo Durie at Wimbledon in 1984 reached the last eight of a major, but Konta ended the wait for her country by clinching a 4-6, 6-4, 8-6 win to set up a clash with either Madison Keys or Shuai Zhang.

Here are five things you might not have known about her.

1. Konta was born in Sydney to Hungarian parents. Her dad, Gabor, is a hotelier and her mum, Gabriella, a dentist. She speaks both English and Hungarian.

2. Konta moved to England and based herself in Eastbourne in 2005, age 14. She qualified as a British citizen in May 2012 and soon started competing for Great Britain. In 2014, she switched her training base to Gijon in Spain.

3. Her first Wimbledon appearance came courtesy of a wild card in 2012 and she showed her propensity for being able to go the distance in matches, eventually losing 10-8 to Christina McHale in a deciding set in the first round.

4. She reached the last-16 of a grand slam for the first time in 2015 when, ranked 97 in the world, she knocked out seeded pair Garbine Muguruza and Andrea Petkovic en route to the fourth round of the US Open, where she lost to two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

5. Konta, 24, currently ranked 47, has won 11 ITF singles titles and four doubles crowns during her career but awaits her first on the main Tour. She had accrued close to £600,000 (Dh3.15 million) in prize money before the Australian Open got under way.

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport