[7] Johanna Konta (GBR) vs. [65] Monica Niculescu (ROU)
Their head-to-head was tied at 1:1, with Konta winning their last encounter; however, Konta has been running low on confidence lately and Niculescu has the type of game that can frustrate players when they are at their best and can be downright irritating when they are struggling with a lack of confidence. There were only two areas where the Brit had better statistics than the Romanian: second serve points won and the points won on return on second serve. However, they were not enough of an advantage for Konta to secure the victory.
As often happens when the match begins to slip out of one’s grasp, some players have a tendency to get anxious, even more so than normal. This anxiety clouds their judgment, which causes them to press a little more and go for more highly improbable shots. Some players think more aggressive play will result in victory; however, they fail to recognize that a change in tactic may be more beneficial. Konta kept going for her shots, which produced error after error as they went long, wide and often into the net.
Niculescu did what she does best, she sliced the ball, keeping it low and elicited more errors from her opponent. Konta was frequently late to the ball and tried to muscle the ball over the net but she failed repeatedly, sending it into the bottom of the net on numerous occasions. It was probably one of the worse matches I have ever seen her play. The Romanian recognizing that her opponent was low on confidence and struggling to find her game simply kept the ball in play and let her implode. In the end it was an easy 6-1, 6-2 victory for her.
SOURCE OF IMAGES: Bing search (Zimbio)
