Konta reveals Killing Eve inspiration
‘Killing Eve’ helps last Briton to ease pressure Fast and furious threat posed by brutal Kvitova
Johanna Konta has revealed an unlikely inspiration for her run to the second week of Wimbledon: the brilliantly twisted BBC drama Killing Eve.
Her favourite fictional character of the moment is Jodie Comer’s Villanelle, a human crime wave whom she described yesterday as “amazing … but psychotic”.
This week, Konta’s own killer instinct will be tested as she tries to come through the loaded top half of the Wimbledon draw. She has been showing fine form as a markswoman, accumulating 20 aces already with her fuzzy yellow bullets. But the player who stands in her way today – two-time champion Petra Kvitova – is even more belligerent with racket in hand, despite being the gentlest of souls off the court.
Both know how to brutalise a tennis ball. Hawk-eye data tells us that Kvitova’s flat and furious groundstrokes clear the net by an average of just 22 inches. Only one woman in the draw – professional daredevil Jelena Ostapenko – uses less margin for error.
This match has been scheduled as the centrepiece of “Manic Monday” – always the most intense afternoon of the grand-slam calendar. And rightly so. Konta has become the LBS – Last Briton Standing – for the third straight slam, having pulled off a courageous comeback win over ninth seed Sloane Stephens on Saturday. In closing out that 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory, she reached such a peak of precision that you would have backed her to do a William Tell and knock an apple off Stephens’s forehead.
Kvitova was even more dominant, albeit against lesser opposition, as she needed only 69 minutes to dispose of Magda Linette 6-3, 6-2.
This is the first time the sixth seed has reached the second week of Wimbledon since 2014, when she last won the title. It sounds like a surprisingly long gap, but her career was interrupted by the knifewielding burglar who broke into her flat in Prostejov in 2016. When Kvitova grabbed the blade with her dominant left hand to pull it away from her throat, she severed tendons so drastically that her surgeon feared she would never play again.
Even before that Kvitova had been popular with the crowds, as her charm and approachability shine through at every interview she gives. Since the attack, which did not prevent her from winning a round at Wimbledon the following summer, she has been even more warmly appreciated. So the blatant partisanship we normally see on Centre Court may be tempered by respect for the other player.
Asked about Kvitova’s comeback, Konta replied: “It is a true testament to her love for the game and her strength of character. After she survived something so traumatic, it is just great to see her enjoying this and being successful at it.”
This is a hard match to predict, for both players like to give and receive a pacy ball. Expect the rhythm to be fast and furious, and the quality high, unless the pressure bites or Kvitova suffers a recurrence of her left forearm strain, which hindered her buildup while helping her arrive at Wimbledon with little fanfare. Kvitova admitted that the muscle still tended to tighten up in practice and added: “I’m always worried about the scenario that it comes in the match. So far it’s OK.”
For Konta, this is only her second appearance in the second week of Wimbledon. For encouragement, her coach, Dimitri Zavialoff, could bring up her strong record against top-10 opponents. If we take out last season, when Konta was struggling through a mid-career blip which she later attributed to burnout, her record against these elite opponents stands at an excellent 19 wins from 31 attempts.
The 2013 Wimbledon champion, Marion Bartoli, suggested that this tournament could be a challenge for Konta because of the weight of expectation. “When she was to play Venus [Williams, in the 2017 semifinal here],” said Bartoli, “the headline from one of the newspapers was about what she would win in contracts if she would win Wimbledon. It was too much weight.”
Yet Konta’s performances so far suggest she is feeling comfortable. “Nothing beats playing on home soil in front of a home crowd,” she said. “There is always going to be an extra desire and want from everyone rooting for you. Not everybody gets a home slam or home events. I am part of a select few so I can only really be grateful for that.”
Win or lose, Konta will return to her Battersea home to catch up on more episodes of her favourite series. But only in moderation, for, unlike Villanelle, she is a master of self-control. “We don’t bingewatch,” she said. “We watch one, max two a day.”