Konta struck instantly in the second set to go a break up, but Sharapova drew on her experience to snatch a double break in response. And she admits that she does also get a kick out of the brash and noisy style of the United States Open – all fireworks, dance-beats and hamburger smells drifting across the court. Konta has shown she can mix it with the best on grass, famously reaching the final eight in Eastbourne recently, and will be relishing her chance to play before a capacity crowd on Centre Court.
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She looked a little rusty at times, serving up seven double faults, but was happy with her form on her return to the surface. “It was playing a top-five player on the Centre Court at Wimbledon”. There were obviously a lot of special moments all rolled into one scenario.
Williams added that she’s got some extra motivation at Wimbledon this year after bowing out earlier in her last two appearances.
Had she been overawed? “Not many players can say they’ve played these players in their career, so I’m looking forward to it”.
“I was quite pleased with the way things went today”, Sharapova told a news conference. You can start saying, “I’ve been there, been in the scenario before”.
“It was my first competitive match in about four weeks, so I just wanted to start off really strong, not knowing much about my opponent, just the results she had last week”.
At least Konta contributed enough grit of her own to make this a worthwhile spectacle – however testing it might have been on the ears.
The match only took 1 hour, 45 minutes – a sprint for Isner, who famously edged Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set of a first-rounder five years ago that lasted more than 11 hours spread over three days. While it sounded fairly straightforward, there was the additional obstacle of knowing the support, while of course respectful of a four-times Grand Slam champion, were firmly behind the home hope. “I’ve been playing and training to be able to compete against the best in the world at the best events in the world”.
“But it’s really about just focusing on yourself and what you have to do and try to win as many points [as possible]”.
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Maria was pictured drinking one of the juices before leaving with a goodie bag, perhaps containing sweet treats which she’ll save to eat in celebration in the event of a win today. But this year she was given nearly four weeks to prepare due to the extended grass-court swing and her fourth round exit.
