Anastasija Sevastova became the first Latvian women since Larisa Neiland at the 1994 Wimbledon Championships to make a Grand Slam quarterfinal as she battled past 13th Johanna Konta to secure a 6-4, 7-5 victory at the US Open.
In a match that certainly will not go down as a classic, neither women were at their best, with unforced errors ending the vast majority of points. However, it was Sevastova, with her craft, who was able to pull out some strong tennis at most the decisive moments, and after a few wobbles (which include missing two match points), the Latvian managed to secure another upset, just days after knocking out Garbine Muguruza.
The win means that Sevastova continues her Cinderella run, which is occurring just a year since a return to tennis after retiring aged just 23 back in 2013.
Sevastova wins topsy-turvy opener
It was Konta who won the toss, and as she went 0-30 up it seemed her decision to receive would be a fruitful one. However, the Latvian responded well by using some crafty tennis to secure an opening hold, and similar tennis in the next game saw Sevastova secure the opening break of the match.
Once again the Latvian fell behind in her service game, though some more slices, and some big serving and a booming forehand winner at 40-30, saw her come from 15-30 down to take a 3-0 lead in the opening stages.
It seemed that Konta, who had taken just 52 minutes to see off Belinda Bencic, was finding it extremely tricky to cope with Sevastova’s game, though, after three unforced errors, the Brit held from 0-40 down to avoid the double break, and then cut down the number of errors as she began to effectively dictate play and break back. The Brit pulled off a comfortable hold to get on even terms for the first time in the match, but the missed out on a huge opportunity to take the lead, making two backhand errors at deuce, after pulling back a now edgy Sevastova from 40-0 up.
It turned out to be a huge hold for the Latvian, who was able to break for a 5-3 lead as, after winning the first point, Konta made four unforced errors in a row to hand the Latvian the advantage once again. The Brit, however, did not miss her opportunity, this time, going 15-40 ahead and saving a set point with a forehand winner, eventually breaking back.
However, it would not amount to much, with a forehand winner down the line by the Latvian setting up a point to take the set, which was duly handed her to by Konta’s 18th error of the set.
Sevestova holds off Konta fight back for victory
After a messy opener, the early signs were that the second set would not be high quality either, with Sevastova pulling out a scrappy hold to start with; iIt was Sevastova who was striking the ball better, hitting a forehand winner to go 15-40 up on Konta’s serve. Though the Brit saved the first with a smash, a double fault handed the Latvian a set and a break lead.
However, just like the first set, Sevastova started to become edgy after taking the lead. Some hesitant tennis saw her hand the break back, though once again it didn’t matter as the Brit hit a forehand error, as well as two drop shots which the Latvian easily go to, to set up three break points; she only needed one, hitting a perfect drop shot winner.
There were no nerves this time, around, with Sevastova holding comfortably to go just two games away from recording another upset. For the first time in the set, Konta managed to hold with a sublime drop shot winner securing the game, and once again she was back in the match as she took her third break point, at 30-40, with a big winner to get back on serve.
Once again, she failed to capitalize. With the errors now flowing, Sevastova failed to take two break point opportunities, though another error by the Brit handed the Latvian another break point, which she took with a forehand winner.
It was evident that the Latvian was extremely nervous, with a poor drop shot when leading 15-0 getting Konta in the game, and after the Brit saved a match point with a backhand winner, Sevastova became hesitant and a lob winner by Konta handed the break back. The Brit quickly went to 0-40, though was once again pulled back and ended up facing another match point, though Sevastova missed her return and Konta was able to hold on for 5-5.
With the pressure briefly off her shoulders, Sevastova seemed less edgy when serving, pulling off a fairly comfortable hold, and the pressure was right back on Konta. It seemed that the Latvian could finally breakthrough when she hit a winner to start, and cross court forehand passing shot to set up a third match point proved to be crucial, with Sevastova finally progressing after the Brit made a final forehand error.