The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Konta undaunted by tag of title favourite
British No 1 cruises into last-16 clash with Garcia
Johanna Konta shrugged off her tag as favourite to win Wimbledon despite cruising past Maria Sakkari and into the last 16.
Konta has become the bookies’ pick after Petra Kvitova, the initial favourite, and then her successor Karolina Pliskova, endured surprise defeats.
There was never any sign Konta would extend the exodus, however, as she barely broke sweat on Court One in a 6-4 6-1 win over Sakkari.
France’s 21st seed Caroline Garcia now awaits in the fourth round.
While the women’s draw is somewhat unreadable heading into the second week, plenty of contenders remain.
Garcia was a 6-4 6-3 winner over America’s Madison Brengle, the conqueror of two-time winner Petra Kvitova in the previous round.
World No 1 Angelique Kerber and Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, who both play third rounds today, are also gaining momentum.
“Everyone in the draw is in with a chance of taking the title,” Konta said.
“I think I’m pretty sure favourites also come and go. “They change daily almost. “I’m just here, happy to have actually made it into the second week, happy to come through three battles this week,” she added.
“Again, I’m very much taking it one match at a time but I’m definitely working towards staying involved for a full two weeks.”
Konta was not at her free-flowing best against Sakkari, the Greek world No 101.
However, it is a mark of her status that she progressed with minimal fuss.
After keeping her unforced errors down to 21 in 41 games against Donna Vekic in the previous round, the British No 1 hit 15 in 17 games against Sakkari.
Her forehand, which delivered more than half of those, was particularly culpable.
“I think I’m playing some good tennis. I don’t think I’m playing unbelievable tennis,” Konta said.
“I definitely believe in myself, the fact that I can keep improving. I can keep getting better, yes.”
She will have less room for error against Garcia, who is enjoying the best season of her career after making the French Open quarter-finals in May.
The world No 21 knows what it takes to beat Konta, too, having won their last meeting 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7/1) on the hard courts of Indian Wells in March. “She’s a very good player. “She’s someone who is playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Konta said.
“I think it’s going to be a very tough match.
“We played in Indian Wells. I lost to her 7-6 in the third there so it was a very close match.
“I don’t anticipate anything different, other than a really, really tough battle for me.”