By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday July 9, 2019
53rd time’s a charm.
Barbora Strycova stunned hometown favorite Johanna Konta 7-6(5) 6-1 on Centre Court on Tuesday to reach her first major semi-final on her 53rd appearance at a Grand Slam singles event and her 17th appearance at Wimbledon.
The 33-year-old Czech, who has mentioned retirement in multiple press conferences this fortnight at Wimbledon, will have to focus on winning the tournament for the time being.
Strycova put every aspect of her diversity on display against Konta in front of a partisan crowd that tried to will the former semi-finalist over the line. Konta nearly gained the edge in the opener when she rushed out to leads of 3-0 and 4-1, but Strycova hit back to level at 4-4 and the 33-year-old Czech rallied from 5-4 down in the tiebreaker, winning the final three points to take the opening set.
It looked to be in Konta’s hands late in the breaker as she cracked back-to-back crosscourt winners, the second one leaving Strycova stranded on her side in the grass at the net.
But Strycova answered back with a backhand volley after a rush to the net to level at 5-5, and earned a set point when a Konta forehand return sailed long.
Konta’s 22nd error of the set clipped the net on the next point and from there Strycova didn’t look back.
The Czech held for 1-0 and quickly broke to 15 to lead 2-0. She broke again in the sixth game, taking a 12-point game to claim the double-break 5-1 lead and served out the victory in the next game.
“I think she was playing very well,” Konta said of Strycova. “I think I couldn't quite find the level that I needed to make it difficult and challenging for the kind of player she is. She's a very difficult player to play on this surface, and in general.”
Strycova was as close to perfect and the stats reflect that. She tossed in 22 winners against just nine unforced errors, served and volleyed 11 times, and held serve in nine of ten service games.
She was virtually mistake-free and kept Konta continuously guessing by throwing different looks, angles and spins her way.
It was vintage singles tennis with a doubles spirit. Lobs, chop volleys, smashes.
“She I think gives her opponents every opportunity to not feel great out there,” Konta said. “That's what she handed to me. I couldn't find an answer for it today. And, yeah, that's what made her good.”
Konta has reached at least the quarter-finals in her last two Slams, and here at Wimbledon she knocked off Top 10 seeds Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova in successive matches before falling to the unseeded Strycova.
She got into a row with members of the British press who tried to call her out for coming up short under pressure.
“Do you not have to look at yourself a little bit about how you cope with these big points?” a swarthy reporter asked.
“I still believe in the tennis that I play,” an angered Konta replied. “I still believe in the way I competed. Yeah, I don't have much else to say to your question.”
When he persisted, Konta quickly shut him down, saying: “Please don’t patronize me.”
It was a nice example of the way Konta conducts her business off the court. She’s not one for having members of the media who are effectively strangers tear into her and her self-confidence.
But she did let Strycova get the best of her on Tuesday, and went out rather meekly.
As for Strycova, the Czech will get nothing but praise—at least today—from the media. Not only had she prevailed on Centre Court for the biggest win of her career. Hours later she was out on No.12 Court to compete in the doubles draw with Hsieh Su-Wei.
She won there as well, reaching the quarter-finals just before the sun went down on a sparsely crowded No.12 court
It's been that kind of Wimbledon for Strycova, with wins coming easily and there could be more to come, whether the stadium is packed or not.
"I set this goal at the beginning of this year, that Wimbledon will be the target that I want to really play well," she said. "It's happening right now, which is something really amazing. It shows you if I believe it, it's happening."