Johanna Konta hails her three set victory over Petra Kvitova as one of her ‘biggest wins’ after the Brit defeated the former two-time Wimbledon champion 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 on Centre Court at Eastbourne yesterday.

Centre Court served up some terrific games yesterday, as Monica Puig and Caroline Wozniacki also went to battle in a three set thriller; but the star attraction was certainly the home town girl Konta.

Fresh off her historic seeding at Wimbledon, Konta produced a marvellous second and third set to stun Kvitova. As for Wimbledon seeding, Konta will be seeded 17th the first time for a British women’s player since Jo Durie in 1984.

Konta started well in the first set and raced to a 5-2 lead; but for the 25-year-old Brit she struggled to close out the set, and Kvitova roared back to take the first set 7-5.

And then in the final two sets Konta rose to the occasion and played some superb tennis much to the delight of her hometown crowd; in the final set she broke Kvitova no less than three times; and in the process sets up a quarter-final against either Andrea Petkovic or Ekaterina Makarova.

Konta says her win over Kvitova definitely ‘one of her biggest’ as a second consecutive quarter-final awaits

Last year Konta reached the quarter-final stages only to lose to eventual winner Belinda Bencic in three sets; but this year everything feels all a bit different, as Konta looks to build up ahead of steam.

Speaking about her victory, Konta said: “It’s definitely one of my biggest wins, even though I don’t think she’s in the top 10 this week. She has been a top 10 player or top player for years.”

The 25-year-old continued by saying: “She really is a champion, and so I am very happy with the level I was able to produce.”

After being within a game of winning the first and then to lose 7-5, Konta showed real mental fortitude to get back into the contest in the second and third sets.

Konta in action against Kvitova yesterday / Sky Sports
Konta in action against Kvitova yesterday / Sky Sports

“Just really keep going. Really keep in mind the things that I did well and take as much from that as I can,” said Konta about that unfortunate first set.

VAVEL Logo
About the author