The crowd on Centre Court could have a real treat to end their day tomorrow, with Eugenie Bouchard taking on 16th seed Johanna Konta in an extremely intriguing second round clash at Wimbledon.

This is set to be the third match on Centre, and the winner will face another tricky clash against Daria Gavrilova or 19th seed Dominika Cibulkova in the third round.

So far at Wimbledon

Both women got their campaigns off to convincing starts, suggesting this could be a hard-fought contest.

Konta came into Wimbledon after a good run at the Aegon International and continued that form with a rain-delayed 6-1, 7-5 victory over the tricky Monica Puig. The Brit played well in general, but will arguably face a more tricky opponent this time.

Johanna Konta waves to the crowd on Court One after her first round win over Monica Puig (Getty/AFP/Adrian Dennis)
Johanna Konta waves to the crowd on Court One after her first round win over Monica Puig (Getty/AFP/Adrian Dennis)

Bouchard came into the third major of the year with a generally disappointing preparation, but was pretty solid in her opening round, surviving several rain delays to beat Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-4; the conclusion of that match took place on Centre Court.

Analysis

One slight advantage for Bouchard is that she knows how to play on grass and has gone far at Wimbledon in the past, reaching the final two years ago, whilst her victory over Puig was Konta’s first ever win at SW19.

However, consistency is certainly going to be key for the Canadian. She must serve well throughout the match as Konta has the weapons to punish her, whilst Bouchard must also look to not force play too much and make too many errors. However, if she is playing well she will be extremely difficult to beat; she should look to dictate play as much as possible and attack Konta’s service games relentlessly.

Bouchard should look to serve well and be aggressive against Konta (Getty/Julian Finney)
Bouchard should look to serve well and be aggressive against Konta (Getty/Julian Finney)

One advantage for Konta could be the crowd support, though she must not get overwhelmed by this. The Brit must also serve well against a powerful opponent and must also look to dictate play as much as possibly; she may not get too many chances as she may not be able to match the Canadian for power. Konta must look to try and force errors from Bouchard, though must also not give the former Wimbledon finalist too many opportunities, as sooner or later she will take one.

Head to Head

One factor that makes this match so interesting is that the two have never met before. Despite this, it shouldn’t be too difficult for both to prepare for the other’s game style as they will both be able to easily find out about each other.

Assessment

There is no doubt that this should be a competitive match, with both women coming off of strong openers and with there being no massive differences between how the two play. However whilst Konta has been in better form this year, Bouchard has the slightly bigger weapons and if she plays well, she should have enough to edge this.

Prediction: Eugenie Bouchard in three sets

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About the author
Oliver Dickson Jefford
20. English Literature student at the University of Southampton. Aspiring sports journalist from Hertfordshire.