British No.1 Johanna Konta is throwing herself into the deep end in her first main draw appearance at the Brisbane International in 2018.
Speaking on Thursday at the site of Brisbane’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display, Konta indicated her first tournament back, following three months sidelined with a foot injury, would be a stern challenge.
Born and raised in Australia, the world No.9 will contend with nine fellow top-20 players in the star-studded event.
“The field is very strong, as it is every year in Brisbane,” Konta said. “We have some great champions playing here, so I’m looking forward to competing in as many matches as I can.”
Konta’s first-round appointment will see her play her first tour-level match since injury forced a premature end to her 2017 season in September.
She will do so with a new coach, having commenced with Maria Sharapova’s ex-coach Michael Joyce just a month ago.
“It’s going well so far. The relationship is still in its infancy,” Konta said.
“We’ve been working together, Michael and I, for roughly four weeks, so it will be our first tournament together … so far we’re doing good work.”
Having lived in Sydney until she was 14, Konta feels at home in Australia and will partake in New Year’s Eve celebrations on the Brisbane River.
She may not make it to midnight, however, with a possible match the next day.
“Well, I’m a kid,” Konta joked. “There’s an 8.30pm showing for the kids and families. My sister is coming here and I have a one-year-old nephew, so we’ve planned to watch the 8.30 fireworks and then go to bed.”
Having won titles in Sydney and Miami, and reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017, Konta is upbeat about her 2018 season.
“I know I can compete day-in, day-out over a lengthy period of time,” she said. “Brisbane is the first stop and one of the strongest we have, so it’s a great place to jump into the deep end.”