In a physically immense and emotionally draining match on Centre Court on Thursday evening Johanna Konta showed spirit but little consistency before losing to the Canadian Eugenie Bouchard over three sets .
Konta, the British No1, had shown all her recently acquired tenacity to level at one-set all after losing the first set but in the second heavy momentum swing of the match she was well beaten in the decider.
It was a match between the hello and the goodbye girls of the women’s game; Konta was ranked 126th in the world when she played here a year ago and is now up to 19th and was seeded No16 for these championships.
Bouchard arrived here last year as the finalist of 2014, but she has slipped back to No48. Her recent signs of rehabilitation, though, were confirmed in this match and she emerged the deserved winner. Konta looked dispirited and well beaten 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.
She has poured praise on her mental coach, Juan Coto, a man said to base many of his methods on Great Britain’s sports psychiatrist Steve Peters. But ultimately, perhaps, the pressure of appearing on the Centre Court as favourite got to her. Without taking anything away from the fiercely combative Bouchard, this was an inconsistent display and Konta’s epic backhand fired only fitfully.
Konta has Hungarian parents and an Australian background, and holds three passports. She was 13 when she moved to England and then moved with her parents to Eastbourne. She says she likes living in the Sussex town because no one knows who she is; that is surely no longer the case after a magnificent year.
It was her run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January which propelled Konta to stardom. More recently she has reached the quarter-final of the Masters in Miami, and the semi-final of the pre-Wimbledon tournament in her hometown. She came here as the first British woman to make it to the world’s top 20 since Jo Durie 30 years ago.
This time, however, the dramatic upward trajectory of her career came to a halt. She had never played Bouchard before and probably will not want to do so again after this.
Konta did not take long to impose herself on the match, breaking Bouchard in the third game when she unfurled the full potency of her backhand for the first time. But Bouchard broke back immediately. And in the next game the Canadian broke again as Konta netted a tame forehand and continued to look out of sorts in her next service game as she slipped 4-2 down.
When Bouchard held it meant that Konta was suddenly serving to save the first set. She held but Bouchard took the first of her three set points on her serve in the next game.
It had taken just over half an hour of brutal and sometimes nervy tennis. The nervousness appeared to be shared by the line officials, who made a number of strange calls.
Konta took the initiative in the second set when she broke Bouchard to go 2-0 up. She then went two break points down in the next game, but she held for a 3-0 advantage.
Bouchard put up with the disappointment of that game by producing some terrific tennis in the next, and a long slugfest of a rally brought the crowd to their feet. The Canadian carried the momentum of that game to win three break points in the next before Konta responded with a massive backhand to pull off a great hold.
Bouchard, who won the singles and doubles junior titles here in 2012, appeared damaged by that, for she was broken to love in the next game before Konta served out to take the set 6-1, although she again had to save break points.
That set up an intriguing finale and Bouchard made herself favourite when she moved 2-0 ahead. Konta had three break points in the next game but fluffed them all and went 3-0 down when she netted a low forehand.
Konta came from behind in the next game to reach deuce but then netted a simple backhand volley to fall 4-0 behind. When Bouchard held her serve once more it left Konta serving to save the match.
She then won that game, finishing it off with a strong drive-volley. But she was only delaying the inevitable and she lost the contest when she twice overshot the baseline.
She managed to dredge up a smile afterwards. “She had a lot to say in the outcome of the match,” the No16 seed said. “It’s not just myself out there alone. I was expecting a tough match and that’s what it was.
“One of Eugenie’s strengths is that she plays to take time away from her opponent. She does that very well. That wins her a lot of points and a lot of matches. Her level of tennis has never disappeared.” She snapped her fingers. “It doesn’t just disappear like that. She’s an incredibly good tennis player and competitor.”
Konta did her best to remain positive. “I’m very happy with the way I’m developing as a tennis player,” she added. “I’m hungry to keep doing so. To have matches like these only adds to the desire to keep getting better.”
