Johanna Konta set to sail in Melbourne

British number one Johanna Konta is high spirit ahead of the Aussie Open which serves off on February 8.

Konta who crashed out in the second round of the 2016 edition of the Australian Open begins  the shape up and the 2021 season on Tuesday morning with a clash against American Bernarda Pera in the Gippsland Trophy at Melbourne Park before the year’s first grand slam begins next week.

Konta acknowledges she was one of the lucky players to be allowed out of quarantine for five hours a day to practise and complete her fitness drills, and the reward is being able to live largely without restrictions in a community that is currently coronavirus free.

She told the PA news agency: “It’s the closest to feeling normal that we’ve probably had in almost a year.

“There’s still masks being worn generally, which is obviously not what we would have considered normal a year ago, but having the opportunity to go to restaurants, to see more people milling about, it definitely does give you a sense of normality.

“(On Saturday) we were walking down the street and there were people queuing up to go into bars and clubs and stuff. At one point we had to walk through a bit of a crowd of people and it was interesting.

“To me, it felt so nice to not be so worried to be around people. Not that I’m going to be getting chummy with a big group of people, but it was a nice feeling to be able to walk through and not think twice about it.”

Konta is looking forward to being able to see her sister and nephews, who will travel down from their home in Sydney at the weekend, while up to 30,000 fans will be allowed into Melbourne Park every day.

“That will be an absolute treat,” said the 29-year-old, who wears clothing brand ellesse. “Besides the French Open, where there were a few people here and there, we haven’t had any fans since the beginning of last year. I’ve always said it’s one of the things that I truly love about what I do.”

Read AlsoAussie Open delay a blessing in disguise- Serena

It would not be a surprise to see some strange results over the next three weeks given the unusual preparation for a major tournament, but Konta is happy with the work she has been able to do.