‘British double could happen’

of 1977, Wade reckons Konta is as well-equipped as anyone to come through a wide open women’s field ‘That would be fantastic,’ she said. ‘Jo seems like a great girl and I think she is ready. ‘I would be thrilled for her to win. She is such a hard worker, so she would really deserve it in that sense. She is playing with real conviction, which is absolutely key in this situation.’ As for the prospect of two British winners, Wade remains optimistic despite world No 1 Murray coming into the tournament on the back of a poor season by his usual high standards in a field including a revitalised Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. ‘It could happen,’ she said. ‘I don’t think Andy is playing as well as he was a year ago, but he is finding a way to win. I wonder how anyone manages to win the last point against him.’ Murray has already beaten three unorthodox rivals in Alexander Bublik, Dustin Brown and Fabio Fognini, and today’s last-16 opponent Paire is cut from the same cloth. ‘He can be quite up and down but seems to have played pretty well so far,’ said Murray. ‘I think I only played him once before and it was a really tight match.’