There remain five matches between Johanna Konta and the Wimbledon title, a long road filled with plenty of trouble and one well beyond anything she has achieved here before. But 40 years on from Virginia Wade’s victory the Briton, at least in the eyes of the bookmakers, is now the clear favourite to win the title.
Considering that the last two women to top the list, Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova – the latter who was beaten 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Thursday by the world No89, Magdalena Rybarikova, of Slovakia in round two – were immediately sent packing, perhaps no one should let her know just yet.
The last thing Konta needs is a bit of extra pressure. Until this year, she had never been past the third round at Wimbledon. And though Serena Williams is not here as she prepares to have her first child and although Pliskova and Kvitova are gone, with the last two runners-up here – the world No1, Angelique Kerber, and Spain’s Garbine Muguruza – still going strong, others have greater resumés.
Yet Konta is the favourite and she has built on her strong performances in Nottingham, where she made the final, and Eastbourne, where she was looking good before having to pull out before the semi-final after a nasty slip.
Her marathon win over Donna Vekic of Croatia in the second round, winning 10-8 in the final set, was a real test of her mettle and she held up well. The first test will be on Friday when she plays Maria Sakkari, a Greek player ranked 101 who is being coached by one of Andy Murray’s former coaches, Mark Petchey, for Wimbledon. With the former world No1 Victoria Azarenka and the French Open runner-up Simona Halep in her quarter of the draw, there is still a lot of work to be done if Konta is to emulate Wade’s achievement.
Chris Evert, speaking on the eve of the tournament, said Konta was a potential champion. “She’s a good grass court player,” Evert said. “Her weapons are her serve and her forehand. She’s very good at moving forward, coming into the net. She has a good volley.
“There is no reason why she can’t be a top contender. It’s going to come down to her nerves, if she believes it, how she handles the pressure of playing in front of Brits. She’s just going to have to show us some guts, but she can do it.”
Pliskova, meanwhile, had warned that Rybarikova was the toughest draw she could have in the second round of a grand slam and so it proved. She had been ranked as high as No31 in 2013 and played even better than that as she pulled Pliskova all around the court. Out of the game for seven months last year after having operations on her left wrist and right knee, she moved smoothly and never allowed the Czech the time to dictate, even if she led by a set and a break.
In the end, it was the skill and variety of the 28-year-old Rybarikova that nullified the power of the big-serving, big-hitting game of Pliskova, the No2 seed. “It’s an amazing feeling,” the Slovakian said. “I just beat Karolina Pliskova. It was a really difficult time for me but my fitness trainer said to me, ‘Something good will happen,’ and now it did.”
Pliskova had won the title in Eastbourne on Sunday to press her claims but had no qualms about the result. “I didn’t play my best but her game is tough to play on the grass,” she said. “Maybe clay or some other surfaces would be a little bit different. I felt like she’s playing really clever today, using that slice, coming into the net, serving pretty well.”
Rybarikova beat Heather Watson to win the warm-up event in Nottingham last month and lost to Konta in the semi-finals in Birmingham. Her next match is against Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine and with the draw wide open, anything is possible. “I am not thinking about winning Wimbledon,” she said. “I am just thinking about my next match on Saturday and we will see from there.”
Bizarrely, Pliskova still has the chance to be world No1 for the first time after this fortnight is completed, depending what happens to Kerber and Halep. That does not mean she will be glued to the television over the next eight days working out the ranking points, though. “For me, the tournament is over,” she said. “So whatever happens, happens.
“I’m not going to pray for somebody’s losing or winning. That’s not my thing any more what is happening here. I’m just going to take off and let’s just wait [to see] who’s going to win it.
“It’s a tough draw for everybody. There are some opponents which are tricky on the grass, which is tough even for the favourites. You could see it today. For the first two seeded girls, Angie and Simona, they have also some tough draws. It still depends how they’re going to play.”
Kerber overcame an assault from the sunglasses-wearing Kirsten Flipkens to reach the third round 7-5, 7-5. The opening set was a topsy-turvy affair built around four consecutive breaks of serve. The German was the first to drop a game, an unforced error at 15-15 followed by two points won by Flipkens by the narrowest of margins.
Kerber responded strongly, returning serve forcefully and landing a forehand winner on the line for 15-40 before sealing the break back. Flipkens broke again with a number of expert slice shots. Last year’s finalist had to dig deep again, powering returns at the Belgian and forcing her into attempting the slice once too often. Finally, at 5-5, and during a succession of powerful rallies, Kerber found her range and claimed the decisive break. Flipkens, who reached the semi-finals at SW19 in 2013, refused to give up.
After the German broke for 3-2, Flipkens consistently played the better and broke back with Kerber serving for the match. The crowd were behind the Belgian but Kerber somehow found another gear, breaking back immediately and finally closing out.
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