Konta digs her heels in to pull through
For Johanna Konta, the final fist pump came as she sealed success on her sixth match point in the second set. A dose of relief, perhaps, as she wore down the resistance of Natalia Vikhlyantseva but a timely shot of belief, too.
After experiencing the ecstasy of last summer’s remarkable run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, the British No 1 has experienced greater toil of late and in the absence of Andy Murray, Konta’s victory stirred the home crowd. She is the great British hope of this year’s tournament but her form must improve. This 7-5, 7-6 victory, at least, was a good start.
By the end of the afternoon, we might have closed our eyes and imagined it was Konta’s glorious summer of 2017 all over again. She spoke with charm about all manner of things. Just like last year, she is balancing her Wimbledon efforts with culinary pleasures at home, notably a marinated lamb dish and an elderflower Pavlova that ‘looked unbelievable’. She also found time to rebuke Evian for excessive plastic bottles at Wimbledon and bemoan Japan’s World Cup exit at the hands of Belgium.
Yet the relaxed conversation betrayed some of the jitters that engulfed her success. This was by no means the perfect performance against Vikhlyantseva. The 21-year- old russian is an emerging talent but ranked outside the top 100 and logic suggested this should have been a straightforward return to SW19 for Konta, 27.
It all seemed to be going to plan. But Konta was a set up and a break up when her concentration teetered. She double-faulted and then attempted an unnecessary dropshot and Vikhlyantseva restored parity in the second set.
out of nowhere, we had a contest. As the tension grew, those old anxieties resurfaced at pivotal times for Konta, as she passed up five match points before eventually winning a second-set tie break. She will need to be more clinical in the next round against Dominika Cibulkova. ‘I was probably nervous there,’ Konta said. ‘I continued to Marching on: Britain’s Jo Konta overcame a late wobble crack on. Nerves will always be there.’
Konta has endured a troublesome period since becoming the first British woman since Virginia Wade to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. After breaking into the top 10, the dizzy heights have brought on a spell of vertigo and she has, at times, veered off course as she dropped out of the top 20.
She stuttered at the Australian open, where she fell in the second round and she then went out in the first round at the French. Yet Konta deserved to win this match. She demonstrated grit and resilience to negotiate her way through a 41-minute first set, where the two players protected their serves fiercely, only for the russian to tire. Konta wore down her opponent with a splendid array of groundstrokes and brought applause from the crowd with a terrific dropshot. Vikhlyantseva then made her errors, as two double faults saw Konta break the serve and gain the initiative. The russian appeared frustrated and conceded her serve at the start of the second set, as a Konta forehand flew across her rival. Yet Vikhlyantseva dug in. She refused to go quietly and for a while, the crowd was on edge as Konta was almost pegged back. Even at 3-0 and 6-2 down in the second- set tie-break, Vikhlyantseva came again, taking Konta to the net and flashing a forehand past the Brit before salvaging five match points. ‘I’m not playing this year’s Championship based on how I played last year,’ Konta reflected. ‘I’m here as 2018 Johanna Konta.’