Wimbledon 2019: Johanna Konta into fourth round but Dan Evans & Harriet Dart lose
- Published
Konta's brilliant comeback against Stephens
Wimbledon 2019 on the BBC |
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Venue: All England Club Dates: 1-14 July |
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full details |
Johanna Konta is the only Briton left in the Wimbledon singles after staging a determined comeback against American Sloane Stephens to reach the last 16.
The 2017 semi-finalist had trailed by a set and was under pressure on her serve before regrouping to win 3-6 6-4 6-1.
Compatriot Dan Evans had many chances against Portugal's Joao Sousa but lost 4-6 6-4 7-5 4-6 6-4 in an epic battle.
Fellow Briton Harriet Dart was earlier overwhelmed 6-1 6-1 by Australian world number one Ashleigh Barty.
Konta will face Czech 2011 and 2014 champion Petra Kvitova for a place in the quarter-finals on Monday.
"I just kept plugging away more than anything," Konta told BBC television.
"I was fully prepared to not be coming back in that second set because she really was playing well. I was really pleased I could keep battling, I was pleased I could mix things up and I did a good job in getting her out of that zone."
Konta turns frustration into fightback
Konta had dominated Stephens in a 6-1 6-4 victory in the French Open quarter-finals last month, playing some of the best tennis of her career.
But the 28-year-old struggled to find her rhythm and became frustrated with herself at times against the 26-year-old American on Court One.
After losing the first set when she netted a backhand, Konta found herself under increasing pressure on her serve in the second.
She showed glimpses of the mental negativity that has hampered her in the past, shooting glances at her coach Dimitri Zavialoff and berating herself for her wayward shots.
But she then translated that into fighting spirit in the fifth game of the second set when she was taken to deuce six times and saved three break points before eventually holding.
That proved to be the start of a comeback as she went on to break the American in the 10th game to take the set and force a decider.
From then on she did not look back - the overcooked forehands found the lines and the head-shaking at changeovers became fist pumps as she won five games in a row from late in the second set to surge ahead in the third.
And her victory was complete when Stephens hit long with just over two hours on the clock.
"I'm really pleased that I've been able to make it to the second week in two successive Grand Slams. I've never been able to do that before," Konta said.
Evans lets chances slip
Dan Evans was a break up in every set but his serve let him down and he could not hold on to the advantage
Evans had prepared for his third-round match by having a one-hour hitting session with 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer on Friday and he started well with a break in the opening game.
He continued to put Sousa's serve under pressure, carving out but failing to convert four other break points, and dominated to take the first set.
He went a break up early in the next two sets but both times allowed the Portuguese to get back into the sets with some excellent net play. Evans double-faulted to gift the second set to Sousa and then hit wide to hand over the third.
Evans again broke early in the fourth and let the advantage slip but this time he clawed his way back from brink when Sousa was one game from victory, delivering a cross-court forehand winner that sent the Court One crowd to their feet.
With the light fading, the new roof was closed on the court for the fifth set, and Evans once again went a break up but let that slip in the next game.
He went match point down on his own service game and with the clock ticking just past four hours, he netted to send Sousa into a last-16 encounter with 18-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
"It is a hard one to take," Evans, 29, said. "It's just disappointing to lose such a tight one."
He was keen to keep perspective, having enjoyed a successful grass-court season with two titles, and when asked how long it would take for him to get over the defeat he replied bluntly: "About 45 minutes.
"It is not the end of the world. It just hurts but what can I do? Feeling sorry for myself isn't going to help."
Dart learns 'tough lesson'
Harriet Dart is the British number four and was appearing in the main draw at Wimbledon for only the second time
Dart exits with her head held high after a tournament that marked her first back-to-back wins at tour level.
The world number 182 had said beforehand that the match against French Open champion Barty would provide her with a good measure of where her tennis was at.
Having lost 6-0 6-0 to Maria Sharapova in her last match against a high-profile player on a Grand Slam main show court at January's Australian Open, she can be comforted by the fact she got herself on the scoreboard in the 53-minute defeat by Barty.
The Australian - who has been beaten by only one player outside the world's top 10 this year - dropped just three points on serve in the first set, moving a double break up before the world number 182 was finally able to hold.
Dart went a double break down at the start of the second set before showing signs of her form of previous rounds, reaching four break points before allowing Barty to hold.
"It's a good learning curve for me," she said. "She played great. She didn't let me in the match at all.
"It's a tough lesson to learn. It's been a great tournament for me. I should take a lot of positives from it."
Barty, who is the first Australian to reach the women's singles fourth round at Wimbledon since 2010, said the young Briton had a bright future.
"Harriet is going to have a fantastic career. I know she will play out on Centre Court again soon," said the Australian, who will play American Alison Riske in the fourth round.