UNDERCOOKED Jo Konta crashed out of the Australian Open, raising concerns about her fitness levels for the rest of the season.
The British No.1 lost for the first time in the first round of this major in Melbourne, succumbing 6-4 6-2 to tricky Tunisian Ons Jabeur on the 1573 Arena.
This was the worst possible start for a player who has aspiration of going deep into the Slams in 2020.
The 28-year-old has only played once since reaching the US Open quarter-finals last September and clearly needs more match practice before she can be competitive.
The London-based star revealed last month that she has been managing a knee complaint since playing in Brisbane 12 months ago.
Despite the injury, she reached the semi-finals of French Open and performed well at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows.
Yet after a frustration winter of rehab, she was unable to cope with the variety and speed of Jabeur, whose world ranking of 78 belies what a fierce, dangerous competitor she is against the seeds.
No.12 seed Konta was not serving at the same level we come to expect at this level and was easily unpicked by the same player she lost to at Eastbourne last summer.
Her stats were woeful, winning just 36% of her second serve points and hitting 19 unforced errors across the 18 games.
It was typical of the under-whelming display that she lost the match after being broken on her serve once again, becoming the third female seed to depart the event.
This was Kontas first match in Melbourne since January 2019 when she lost at 3.17am in an epic second-round clash against Spaniard Garbine Muguruza.
The original match 12 months ago was scheduled to take place on a different court but that was switched because there was too much seagull poo on the playing surface!
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