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British No 1 managing a knee injury as Melbourne looms• GB hopes in Fed Cup dealt a blow as Konta rules herself out
Johanna Konta will be fit to play in the
Australian Open but has dealt a massive blow to Great Britain’s Fed Cup chances by announcing she will not represent her country in the competition this year. Konta is Britain’s best female player by some distance and has won her last 11 singles matches in Fed Cup, the most recent two to help
Britain to victory over Kazakhstan last April.
That saw Britain finally promoted back to World Group level after 26 years, although a subsequent revamp of the competition means they must win a play-off against Slovakia in Bratislava next month to book a spot at the inaugural finals week in Budapest in April. Konta’s absence will make the Slovakia tie extremely difficult but the world No13 insisted she had the blessing of GB captain Anne Keothavong.