Mug has Mcleman aid

Konta on a revenge mission against Halep three months

GARBINE MUGURUZA didn’t mention it but hopefully she didn’t forget the vital role played in her progress to the quarter-finals by none other than the Daily Mirror’s Neil Mcleman.

The 2016 French Open winner made a surprise appearance at a tennis clinic at The Wimbledon Club on Sunday.

And our man was among the guests who helped the Spaniard build up her confidence ahead of her fourthround win over world No.1 Angelique Kerber. Next she plays Svetlana Kuznetsova. LESS than three months ago, in her Romanian homeland, Simona Halep looked on from courtside as Johanna Konta left an arena in tears, verbal abuse assaulting her ears.

Halep’s Fed Cup captain, Ilie Nastase, had already been escorted from the stadium, aiming a parting personal shot at Konta that does not bear repeating.

The following day, Halep beat Konta to help give Romania victory over Great Britain. Today, they will meet on Centre Court, the bitter history of that weekend in Constanta just part of a backdrop that makes it the biggest game in

British women’s tennis in the last three decades.

So far, Konta has been impenetrable to the pressure that swells with each victory, that grows as the thought of a first home Wimbledon winner in the ladies singles for 40 years embeds itself the public imagination. Indeed, the expectation seemed to elevate her in the decisive stages of an attritional 7-6 4-6 6-4 triumph over Caroline Garcia. This, though, will be a different level.

There is now genuine belief that Konta can win this tournament. Or, as she likes to put it in her dead-bat way, “be involved for the full two weeks”.

Looking to halt that involvement is a No.2 seed who will become the world’s top-ranked player if she conquers Konta on Centre Court. Throw in the unpleasant narrative of the Fed Cup (Nastase, left) and you have a game bursting with pressure.

Halep was only watching when Konta had to take a tearful break from her match with Sorana Cirstea back in late April.

Konta came back and won the match, Cirstea accused her of gamesmanship and, after Romania went on to win the tie, there is a lingering coldness between the Brit and Halep.

Asked, after setting up the lastin

WIMBLEDON boss Richard Lewis defended the condition of the courts after a string of complaints. The All England Club chief executive (above) said: “We respect the players’ views and in the heat of battle and the heat of a tournament they will have...