THE chances of Jo Konta admitting it in public are about as slim as the organisers removing burgers from the menus but there is a bit of a strut about Britain’s top-ranked player these days.

Considering her stunning rise up the rankings in the past 18 months and her change from a promising but erratic player to someone capable of making the back end of a grand slam, that might not be a surprise.

But it is nevertheless a reassuring feeling to watch Konta do her thing, beating players she is expected to on ranking and looking confident in the process, drawing on her run to the fourth round here last year.

“I think the only thing I may take from the past is that mentally and physically I can last for a long period of time,” Konta said. “And that gives you a sense of assurance. Results don’t reflect how you’re going to play next week or the week after. You may have a lot of matches under your belt but others who also have a lot and are playing well.”

Her brilliant run to the semi-finals at the Australian made the rest of the women’s game take notice and with every tournament she plays, her belief seems to rise.

“I don’t think it’s so much confidence as experience,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of matches and scenarios and hopefully my experience will continue to grow as I get older. Confidence, I think that’s a very personal thing. If you take your confidence from external matters it’s a fickle thing. I try hard not to get my belief from my results.”

Seeded 13th, there is a little pressure, at least from the outside, on her shoulders but Konta showed no sign of tightness in her opening 6-3, 6-3 win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands, an Olympic gold medallist in mixed doubles in Rio.

The result of that match was never in doubt as she dominated from the baseline and with her serve and Konta will go into her second-round match with Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova today as the strong favourite, on paper at least.

“She’s a great player, been highly ranked,” Konta said of the former Wimbledon semi-finalist and a woman who reached the last eight at this year’s French Open. Her tennis level is very, very good. She has a lot of experience.”

Listen to Konta speak and the work she continues to put in with her mental coach is immediately clear to see – and hear.

The 25-year-old, who lives away from the hustle and bustle, in Eastbourne on England's south coast, loves to talk of the process, the journey, staying in the moment and tries her best not to speak in more specific terms or allow herself to think beyond the moment.

“I take a lot of pleasure from being able to keep myself in that frame of mind,” she said. “I do enjoy patting myself on the back and saying good job. It’s evolving. We are doing the things we need to do. But he’s not here.”

As the results come, expectations will inevitably rise that perhaps, just perhaps, Konta could become the first British woman to reach a grand slam singles final since Virginia Wade won Wimbledon in 1977.

“Pressure is in every single match, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing someone who’s ranked above or below you,” Konta said. “It’s very important for me to disassociate myself from that and really focus on my game and on what I want to do against the other player.”