British No 1 Jo Konta raring to go as wild week begins Down Under ahead of the Australian Open

Not for Jo Konta the luxury of a full entourage as she throws herself into the busiest week in recent tennis history.

The British No 1 was not among the chosen few serving their Australian semi-quarantine in Adelaide, where Rafael Nadal posted a picture of the six people he was able to bring with him, including his father and public relations manager.

Konta, like the vast majority of players, was back in Melbourne with limited support, and has travelled with just her assistant coach Dan Smethurst and boyfriend Jackson Wade.

This week she plays in the Gippsland Trophy, one of six events taking place at Melbourne Park ahead of the Australian Open.

Konta was at least able to practise during her fortnight under strict supervision, communicating with head coach Dimitri Zavialoff, who is still in Europe.

‘I was only able to bring two people, so I brought Dan and Jackson,’ said Konta, who has a bye in the first round. ‘Quarantine had its challenges but once we got through the first few days of stress and teething problems, we took it day by day, enjoyed it for what it was when we could.’

She is looking forward to playing in front of crowds that, while still restricted, will be among the biggest for any sports event since March. ‘I don’t know where else in the world this would be possible because Australia is in the best position possible to offer some normality after the quarantine period,’ she said.

In Melbourne, where it is high summer, Covid cases have been suppressed, although there are still things that could go wrong. A reminder of that came from Perth, across the country, where a strict five-day lockdown was introduced yesterday after a hotel security guard tested positive for the disease.

Konta is one of four British women in action, with Francesca Jones and Katie Boulter playing overnight in a separate WTA event, the Yarra Valley Classic.

Confusingly, Heather Watson is due to play in a third — the Grampians Trophy — on Wednesday. The idea is that everyone gets matches ahead of next week’s main event.

These are not normal times, and a sign is that Nadal finds himself playing in the team-based ATP Cup for Spain as his warm-up. ‘Most of you know I never play the week before a Grand Slam, so it is a little bit new and a strange situation,’ he said.

Nadal is one of the great adapters, as he showed during the rescheduled French Open in October. For all the cold weather and lack of crowds, he was as imperious as ever in crushing Novak Djokovic to win the title, and it would be no surprise if they meet in the final Down Under.

Djokovic’s conduct through the pandemic has made him the target of barbs from Nick Kyrgios, who joined women’s No 1 Ash Barty in staying put in Australia throughout the crisis. Both of them are resurfacing this week, and one of the hopes will be that Kyrgios can translate his immense ability into serious victories.

‘Last year was a crazy year. I’m from Canberra. Honestly, it was the best part of the world during everything,’ he said. ‘There were no restrictions there for seven months. I was incredibly lucky to just be with my family and friends and reset everything.

‘I feel mentally completely refreshed, ready to go again. I didn’t touch a tennis racket for the first four or five months. I wanted to get completely away from it. It was actually tough to start getting back into it.’

However, there does not appear to have been an underlying sea change in his attitude. He said: ‘I’m not going to lie — I didn’t miss the game that much.’