JOHANNA KONTA’S run to the final of the Italian Open may have surprised many in tennis, but not her coach Dimitri Zavialoff.

The experienced Frenchman began working with the British number one at the end of last season after an underwhelming year with US coach Michael Joyce, and the signs are that Konta is once again on an upward trajectory.

Last week in Rome, Konta demonstrated hitherto unseen clay-court prowess to defeat Sloane Stephens, Venus Williams and Kiki Bertens and reach the second biggest final of her career, catapulting her into the picture as a French Open dark horse.