Tennis News

If Johanna Konta is to keep up her meteoric rise and pull off what would be a hugely popular home victory at Wimbledon this year, she would be following in some distinguished footsteps, emulating Wimbledon’s last female British champion, Virginia Wade.

This summer marks the 40th anniversary of that famous day on which Wade defeated Betty Stove to lift the most coveted of titles back in 1977 on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee.

Now a resident of New York, Wade reflects in an interview with the Daily Mail on the day that elevated her to tennis superstardom.

Having battled past Chris Evert in a tough three-set semifinal, Wade found herself matched against a seemingly easier opponent in the final and yet many people forget that she lost the opening set to Stove after a nervy start.

“I knew I had to find my courage after the first set,” said Wade. “But I was always aware that Betty was not sure how to beat me. I had fought through some tough matches against her before and won, and I knew I had left some scar tissue on her. I was fine from when I went 3-0 up in the second set.”

From then on, Wade dominated the final set and, with Stove’s spirit broken, she romped home to secure a famous 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 victory.

“I couldn’t hear what the Queen was saying because there was such a commotion and the crowd were singing ‘For she’s a jolly good fellow’, I’ve still no idea why. That night I went with a large group of family and friends to a lovely Indian restaurant opposite Harrods.

“Then there was the Champions’ Dinner at the Savoy. It was the first year that they abandoned the dance between the champions, so I never got to dance with Bjorn (Borg).”

Wade was only days short of her 32nd birthday when she won Wimbledon in 1977 so Johanna Konta knows she certainly has her best years ahead of her. Especially considering that she plays Venus Williams in the semifinal of the Miami Open, the American rediscovering some of her very best tennis at 36 years of age, 11 years Konta’s senior.