Tennis News

EASTBOURNE, England – No.11 seed Johanna Konta is back into the quarterfinals at the Aegon International Eastbourne after coming back from a set down to oust two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

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Konta, an Eastbourne resident, has enjoyed vocal support from the home crowd at the event that last year saw her reach her career-first Premier-level quarterfinal. But the levelheaded Brit, as always, keeps even the support at arms’ length.

“Quite honestly, it makes a difference in the sense that it’s nice to be at home,” she said ahead of the match. “But in terms of how I mentally prepare or how much I let in, it does not make a difference.I really do try to keep myself in my own head space.”

The Brit has faced off against the No.5 seed Kvitova once before, when Kvitova halted Konta’s big breakthrough at last year’s US Open in the round of 16. Konta learned her lessons and, despite facing the Czech on her best surface, was able to put her nerves aside and defeat her, 5-7, 6-4, 6-0.

“She plays incredibly well on the grass,” Konta acknowledged. “She’s a two-time Wimbledon champion, so I think her results speak for themselves.

“I just need to stay in points when I need to but also look to take my opportunities whenever they arise.”

That’s easier said than done against the two-time Grand Slam champion – something that Konta discovered early on in the first set when she saw her 5-2 lead erased by Kvitova. Konta was serving for the set – she even held a set point – when Kvitova broke serve and rattled off the next four games to turn the match around on the Brit.

“I told myself to just really keep going,” Konta said. “Really keep in mind the things that I did well and take as much from that as I can. I just tried to have a very short memory and keep moving forward, keep moving on.”

Konta switched up her strategy against Kvitova in the second and third sets, becoming more aggressive on the return to neutralize Kvitova’s powerful serve and keep her back on her heels. She won over 70% of the points behind her first serve in the last two sets, whereas Kvitova struggled to put pressure on Konta, and couldn’t bring up a break point in the final sets.

Konta grabbed a decisive break in the fifth game of the second set, then dealt Kvitova a surprising bagel set to close out the match after two hours and fourteen minutes.

“I’m not sure there are words that are big enough to describe that win!” Konta grinned after the match.

“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 5 player for years and years and years now.

“She really is a champion, and so I am very happy with the level I was able to produce, you know, even if it didn’t go my way and just kept plugging away throughout that whole match.”

Konta will face the winner of the round of 16 match between Andrea Petkovic and Ekaterina Makarova which has been postponed for tomorrow due to rain.

“I'm not sure there are words big enough to describe it!”

-@JoKonta91 reaction after defeating Kvitova https://t.co/T20is8UVla

— WTA (@WTA) June 22, 2016

EASTBOURNE, Great Britain – Monica Puig enjoyed another stellar win in the quarterfinals of the Aegon International, outlasting Kristina Mladenovic, 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3, to reach the semifinals in Eastbourne.

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The Puerto Rican starlet needed to qualify just to reach the main draw in Eastbourne, but has played incredible tennis this week, Mladenovic in an over two hour epic.

“I don’t think today was the same quality match as yesterday,” Puig said, referring to her thrilling win over former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki on Wednesday. “I missed a little bit more, there were more double faults, felt like a million to me, but, you know, the most important thing is I was able to put those behind me and just keep focusing on what I had to do next, which is very important.

“I always try to stay as positive as possible, but it definitely does feel good to get this win under my belt and move into the semis.”

Puig was the only one to finish her quarterfinal on a rainy Thursday in Eastbourne. Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska edged ahead by a set and a break over rival Dominika Cibulkova before their match was ultimately washed out, and Karolina Pliskova was on fire to start her quarterfinal against 2013 champion Elena Vesnina – losing three points in the first four and a half games – before their match was also halted.

In another jam-packed order of play, the quarterfinals and semifinals are set to conclude on Friday, leading of with Radwanska and Cibulkova on Centre Court, followed by the quarterfinal encounter between No.11 seed Johanna Konta and Ekaterina Makarova, who finished off Andrea Petkovic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Thursday.

Can World No.1 Serena Williams find that Wimbledon magic and complete her quest to match Stefanie Graf’s Open Era record of 22 major titles? Will No.2 Garbiñe Muguruza set aside any French Open hangover to complete the Channel Slam? Or is there another champion lying in wait?

WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen is joined by Reem Abulleil, tennis reporter for Sport360.com, to dissect the draw and preview the third major of the year.

Petra Kvitova cut a troubled figure for much of 2016, searching in vain for the form that took her to two Wimbledon victories.

A quietly impressive summer on the North American cement suggested a corner had been turned, but even then few could have forecasted just how brilliant the Czech would be during the home stretch.

The catalyst came at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, where Kvitova inflicted the first defeat of Angelique Kerber reign as World No.1 in an absorbing third-round encounter.

Under the roof at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center, Kvitova set the tone in the first set, recovering from an early break to move 4-2 ahead. However, Kerber refused to wilt in the face of this baseline assault, fending off a set point with a trademark crouched backhand before pinching the tie-break when Kvitova sent a wild forehand long.

WOW! ?

41 shot rally!! #WuhanOpenTennis pic.twitter.com/T9Kzy9LERc

— WTA (@WTA) September 28, 2016

This ebb and flow continued into the second, the Czech edging her way ahead only to be reeled back in on each occasion. Eventually her persistence paid off, as she bludgeoned herself level before unleashing a fizzing backhand as she broke to love at the start of the decider.

It was an advantage she hung onto doggedly when Kerber staged an inevitable fightback. Somehow she held on, fending off 10 break back points – including seven in one game – as she dragged her weary body towards the finishing line. The drama continued until the very end, Kvitova spurning six match points until she managed to summon a forehand that even Kerber could not track down.

By the time Kvitova belatedly closed out her 6-7(10), 7-5, 6-4 victory, she had been on court for three hours and 20 minutes – the fourth longest match of the season.

Numbery numbers. #WuhanOpen #Kvitova pic.twitter.com/gxjAIFXTC8

— TennisTV (@TennisTV) September 28, 2016

“I won after playing a long time. I feel happy. But as well I feel tired, and the tournament is still going, so I don’t feel that satisfied. I think it was a great match from both of us,” Kvitova said in her post-match press conference.

“I really gave everything today. I think same as her. I think it was really about the few points. It was a great battle. So hopefully the fans enjoyed it as well. I did, for sure. I will feel it tomorrow definitely.”

If this epic ordeal had taken anything out of Kvitova, she hid it well. Over the following three days, Kvitova dismissed Johanna Konta, Simona Halep and then Dominika Cibulkova with increasing degrees of ease to capture the 18th title of her career.