Konta may find new coach tough to work with, says Robson

[August 26, 2020]  (Reuters) - Briton Johanna Konta's decision to appoint Thomas Hogstedt as her coach to replace Dimitri Zavialoff is a "weird choice" as the Swede can be difficult to work with, her former Fed Cup team mate Laura Robson has said.

Hogstedt, who previously worked with Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka, is Konta's fifth coach in four years.

Konta has made a strong start under Hogstedt's guidance and reached the quarter-finals of the Western and Southern Open as she prepares for next week's U.S. Open.

"Thomas Hogstedt seems like a very weird choice for me to pair with Johanna Konta because they are so individual and so dead set on whatever they think is best," Robson said while doing commentary on Amazon Prime.

"He's known to be quite difficult to work with to the point where I remember Sharapova would not go for dinner with him. I think they (Konta and Hogstedt) might have a couple of long weeks inside the bubble."

Konta, who will be chasing her maiden Grand Slam triumph at Flushing Meadows, brushed off Robson's comments.

Britain’s Johanna Konta wraps her wrist during the match against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca

"Laura doesn't know me very well and I don't know her very well. I think she's just basing that on what she knows about me, which is fair enough," The Times quoted Konta as saying.

"I take it day by day and am enjoying getting to know him, I have a lot of respect for him, he has had a lot of success with a lot of players."

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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