Day 4, Part 1 Tennis: Eastbourne

A day and a half a brain means that we get to Thursday at Eastbourne and

it is manic - matches, people, players everywhere. It's crazy. -- a

day and a half of rain. What a way to finish things off for

Johanna Konta. She has got it. What an achievement. Good afternoon from

Devonshire Park. The British number one against the French Open champion

tops the bill today, and it should be a thrilling afternoon here. We

have been playing for a couple of hours, and there is a glimmer of

sunshine behind me. We should be back on schedule by the end of

today. One big name has gone out today, Agnieszka Radwanska, a former

champion here, who lost in straight sets to American Lauren Davies, who

belies her size. 6-1 in the second set there. That was an unexpected

result, but by and large, things have gone pretty much according to

plan here at Eastbourne over the first few days, between the showers.

That is how the top half of the draw looks. We are at the stage of the

last 16. The winner of Kerber's match will play Ostapenko. It is

worth repeating that from day one the quality of the draw has made

this like Wimbledon by the sea this week. You can see that on Centre

Court, the first match we will see at some point in the next few

minutes is Johanna Konta against Jelena Ostapenko, followed by an

either up or match. -- and either -- an either or match.

I'm delighted to say that alongside me, and obviously tailored by the

same Savile Row Company, Leon Smith, the Davis Cup captain. And we're

wearing the same shoes? I am just taking tips! Big Davis Cup news

today, kind of out of the blue, almost, with the ITF announcing that

the final of the Davis Cup and the Fed cup should be played at a

neutral venue, and they have chosen Geneva for the first three years.

What was your reaction when you heard? I am not overly shocked

because it has been talked about for a long time. I would not say there

has been a formal consultation process, but I have had various

meetings and conversations with the likes of the ITF president, David

Hagerty, so I am not shocked. From the point of view of the players,

what will happen with players committing to the Davis Cup, which

ever wants to see? There will have to be information. It is all very

well saying a neutral venue, but the initial reaction from players will

be, we don't like that. I have seen some reaction from players, saying

that they have destroyed the cup and this is insanity, some more

vitriolic comments as well. It is all very well when Great Britain

play Belgium in Ghent, because you get a great event with a great

atmosphere, but if you ended up with the USA against Argentina in Geneva,

that will be a nonevent, won't it? By playing it in a neutral venue,

what does that secure for the players, from the various

federations who have to travel differences? I can't go back to the

players now and say, OK, this isn't hugely popular, but in terms of

ranking points, purse strings, this is what it could look like you, and

then they could put their energy into coming up with ways of dealing

with it. There is a big debate about whether Davis Cup fits into the

calendar. The thing that sets it apart is the atmosphere, the crowd,

the gladiatorial nature, the nationality element, which we don't

have in the normal treadmill of tennis. If you suddenly play it in a

neutral venue, it takes away part of the reason for playing it at all.

That is why people are sceptical. We played France, and the atmosphere

was unbelievable. It was the fact that it was in France, in a great

venue, and everyone was passionate about it. I don't know how we will

get fans to the new venue, what proportion of tickets there will be.

It is the trickling information. I get the impression from you that you

don't think this will happen. I think it might happen, but we need

to see the information. It might be sounding the death knell of the

Davis Cup. I hope not. If there is a huge amount of money brought in that

can rival what the players are getting week in week out, because it

is not worth it for the top players, let's be honest. The top players

play because of the fans and the experience. If you put the Davis Cup

and FA Cup finals together, does that give it credence? -- the Fed

cup. You can promote tennis around those events. It is like World Cup

finals, there can be a lot more activity. We saw pictures of Andy

Murray, that unforgettable lob to win the Davis Cup, but an

announcement this morning that he will not play the second exhibition

match he was scheduled to play because of the continuation of this

hip injury. People are saying at home, this is all sounding rather

alarming. Are we being unduly alarmed here, or is there actually

something perhaps seriously wrong? Everyone looks forward to Wimbledon

a lot because of Andy Murray, having won it twice, it is his best

surface, and he loves the event, but this is not ideal. He hasn't played

as much tennis as he would have liked, both in competition, where he

likes getting matches under his belt... And we saw him losing at

Queen's. He could go to Wimbledon having played just one match and

having had one defeat. Which is why he wants to get more practice in. He

puts a lot of pride and effort into doing hours on the court, and when

you take that away, you need to build up to it. In Paris, people

were questioning his form, the number of matches he had played, and

I don't see it being any different at the moment. If he navigates his

way through those early rounds, we will see him build on servers that I

think he is the best on. Because it is Wimbledon, and Andy has won it

twice, and everything else, how much does it matter to him to be in peak

condition come Monday or Tuesday? It is his home tournament, and he has

had his greatest success there, so of course, he wants to be in peak

condition. He has so much experience of how you go through the fortnight,

so if you can work your way through early on, build your confidence and

your hours on court, that is how we will see him work his way into this

tournament again. Great to have you here. You will be commentating as

well, so we will talk more later about your involvement with Kyle

Edmund, and we will talk about one or two signed out there that had

been encouraging this week. We have two big names in the British game

taking part today. We are going to see Johanna Konta later Ron against

Jelena Ostapenko. That is the big match on Centre Court but asked. And

then -- later on. Then Heather Watson will be in action on Court

number four, which is sadly not covered by TV cameras, but we will

update you on how she gets on. We will show you live Caroline

Wozniacki in action, and here is her first set point, against Elena

Vesnina, which he won 6-1. An emphatic first set. That is taking

place on Court Number One. Here we are at 3-1 in the second set. Gigi

Salmon and Sam Smith are in the commentary box.

COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon everybody. A tough time out here for

Elena Vesnina. She is a break down in the second set and facing a

second break point in this fifth game of the second.

APPLAUSE Another good save from Elena

Vesnina. Sam Smith, the pressure is well and truly on the Russian. Yes,

this is someone she has struggled with over the years, but good

memories for her back in Eastbourne. And it is a surface she enjoys, but

so does Caroline. The problem she has is that was the Aki knows

exactly how to play her. Caroline plays it directly down the middle.

You do not want to play with width with Vesnina, because you can always

see her aiming down the line. She loves the", was the ackee, and very

smart match player, and she has Vesnina's number. -- was the

... A great second set from Vesnina, under pressure, says a third break

point in this game. Vesnina is the 16th seed. She had a bye in the

first round. And there it is - a lovely pass from

Caroline Wozniacki. A pump of the fest, a little apology on the way

back to the chair, but all that matters for Caroline Wozniacki is

that she now leads by one set and a double break. Sam, I would like to

have a word about conditions, because we started the week like we

were in Miami - sunny, hot, lovely - then it was a complete wash-out.

Yesterday, not much of a breeze. And today, conditions have changed once

again, a little more breeze. It is also cooler. Players are not

terribly keen. They will be glad it is not too windy, although yesterday

was terribly still. The breeze should blow the rain clouds away.

You can always banked on Caroline Wozniacki, because she is a gritty

cell. When everyone is moaning that they don't have enough time to

practice or stretch, or that it is raining or cold, she is like, I am

not too worried about that, and she will be on an indoor court or in the

gym. She is a cup half full kind of lady. There is this wittiness, this

resilience, about Caroline that maybe we don't talk enough about.

She is someone you can rely on, and she will get on with it. If

conditions stay like this, you have to back her picking up another

Eastbourne title, because she is left standing when everyone else is

standing around complaining. No complaints from the Dane at the

moment. The winner of this will face either Simona Halep or Svetlana

Pironkova, a former finalist at Wimbledon.

You can tell the conditions are cooler, the players wearing

long-sleeved tops out there. We saw Lauren Davis out earlier with

leggings on underneath the skirt. Yes, we have moved on a long way.

There is Dad, a firm fixture in the Vesnina camp. We have moved a long

way since back in the day. You would throw up tracksuit top on 20 years

ago. It billowed up and you felt you were a stuffed turkey if you had a

jumper underneath it. They have these Lycra, skintight tops now. A

much better look. If you had a choice, you would not

go for the stuffed Christmas turkey look, would you? That was a smart

point from Wozniacki. She is far too consistent for Vesnina. Vesnina

cannot hit enough winners versus her errors. Wozniacki works it up and

down the middle. Talking about how hard Caroline Wozniacki works, she

has 25 singles titles, the most without having won a Grand Slam. She

is a worker. She is a former world number one.

There it is, a comfortable hold. She drops just four points on serve in

the first set, around the same in the second. She is one game away

from booking her place in the quarterfinals, and that would be one

better than last year's exit at this stage.

Too many of those for Vesnina in this match. That is double fault

number five. I was adding one onto her total. It is not as bad as I

thought. A little bit of luck everybody

needs. I don't think it is enough to get her back in this contest. Yes,

Caroline is relentless. Wonderful concentration and an outstanding

match player. Pretty much back to her best, or I would say, better

than ever, the way she is hitting the ball these days.

Vesnina has had a good couple of years, getting her ranking up to as

high as 13 in March, a career high. She is currently sitting at 16. She

took her biggest title to date in the singles at Indian Wells earlier

this year on the hardcourt. Yes, played so well at Wimbledon

last year. She is someone who has developed later in her career with

her confidence and game style. Good use of the court. We know she

has good hands at the net, Elena Vesnina. She is a champion in

doubles Grand Slam level, winning a gold medal at the Rio Olympics. You

have to think about when you come up against Caroline Wozniacki, it must

be frustrating, because she is like a wall. She will run and run all day

long. She is one of their best athletes, with a huge engine,

stamina and a willingness to run. I kind of suspect that Caroline, I

wouldn't put past her, there is a party tonight, and I think she might

go up there and come back before her match tomorrow. She is playing as

if, yes, I have got the dress ready. It is only an hour up the road...

And if you have had the dress for a while, and it could be the one

opportunity to wear the dress, if there is a window, you take it. And

she is creating that window if she finishes this right now. She will be

saying to her dad, who is the coach, I will be back and in bed on time. I

will be ready for the final. She is always party- ready, and I say that

in a positive way. She's great with the media, gives an awful lot of the

tour. She appeared on the front cover of a magazine in Denmark with

not a lot on, which has caused quite a fuss over there, but she looks

incredible. Arms and legs strategically placed, I would say,

from that shot. But it looks fantastic. Serving out for a place

in the quarterfinals in her first event since her final eight showing

at Roland Garros on the clay. From what I have seen from Caroline

this week in practice and her early matches, she is striking the ball

well, looks confident, and could have gone even further in the

French. If that was her on clay, what will she be like on grass,

which she has such a good game for? She will be very happy with this

clean match. No dramas, last eight, tiptop. Three match points for the

sixth seed, Caroline Wozniacki. And there it is, at the second time

of asking, a cool, clean, composed performance from Caroline Wozniacki,

a former winner here in 2009. The sixth seed, straight sets, one hour

in six minutes. 6-1, 6-2, over Elena Vesnina. -- one hour and six

minutes. She will be very happy with that performance. She is through

into the last eight. STUDIO: That was conclusive enough. Goodness me!

Barely an hour, on and off. She looks in good form. We will see

Johanna Konta in action shortly, but one British player we will not see

is Katie Dunn, who has just lost in qualifying at Roehampton. Leon Smith

is with us here, and there is a lot to talk about in British tennis. We

discussed Andy before that match, so let's go in ranking order. Kyle

Edmund 's obviously lost in the first round here come you are now

working with them, so is he someone now who has hit a crossroads in his

career and needs to kick on somehow, and maybe you are the man to be the

catalyst for that? Let's clarify - I am loosely helping him in my role as

Davis Cup captain. He recently finished working with Ryan Jones,

who did a terrific job, but these things happen. The life span is

about 18 months on the men's tour, so we shouldn't be surprised by that

change. He is now looking for a new situation, so I am helping very

loosely. Kyle is going at his own place. Some players, if they have a

certain characteristic that they shook through, he is making

progress. He might be a bit sticky where he at just now. He has the

right mindset. All the predictions that he is a top 20 player, you

don't see any reason to revise that? Know, when you see him practice and

some of the matches he has won this year, he came alive at the French

Open, he gets too many good results, and he also pushes the top players

hard, which is a good indicator. That shows that he has good weapons.

Dan Evans, from one extreme to the other, the LTA took the media out

for a bite to eat on Monday night, and the subject of Dan Evans came

up. There was quite a vitriolic discussion taking place, with a lot

of people thinking he has had so many chances and he has shot himself

in the foot, basically, by testing positively for cocaine. Other people

say that we need to be more conciliatory and understand that he

is still a young guy, that he makes mistakes - whether you sit? I have a

different relationship than many would have with Dan. I have known

him well since he was 13, and he has gone through many ups and downs, and

this is obviously a low point, the lowest that can get. It is a sad

situation. Everything in front of him, everything. Even this year, he

is in the top 50 and started the year well. The important thing from

his point of view is, he has put his hand up, and he has to. He has made

a stupid mistake and he will pay a price for that. How big a price

should he pay, do you think? It is not for me to say. What ever the ITF

end up giving him as a suspension, that is up to them, but he will

serve it, and during that time, it is a question of us offering

support, education, as we talked about, with the hope being that he

will come back. He can come back but it will be tough, starting at zero

and working through. He has done it, not from this low a point before,

but it is possible and he will have to take responsibility for his

actions. Have you spoken to him since it was announced? Yeah. How is

he? He is gutted. He knows he has made a mistake. It is a really sad

situation because we have all seen him groaning as a player, and this

is... It will hit him hard, and he knows that, and he will have to take

whatever comes his way. OK, talking of British players, Jelena

Ostapenko... Maybe one day she will be an honorary Brit. She is walking

on court to play Johanna Konta, who will appear shortly, I'm sure. Here

is the reception for the local girl. She looked very impressive in her

first match a couple of days ago. A gentleman walked in who had a

sizeable bets on her to win. The odds were great, she's 5-2 favourite

to beat the champion here in Eastbourne, which shows the kind of

form she is in. Going back to the men's game, Dan Evans being out of

the equation, does that mean that you, as Davis Cup captain, will

start campaigning ever more eagerly to get Ali jazz playing? We help and

support where we can, and the door is not shut. We have to keep looking

at ways to keep the dialogue going. Is it opens like this are like that,

the dog? It is narrowing, but there is a possibility. We have had

discussions with the idea. -- the door. It is not closed yet. At some

point in the future, the next generation will have to play in the

Davis Cup. J Clark, he was in the last round of qualifying at

Wimbledon, and most people watching at the moment will not know anything

about him, so tell us about him. Jay is from derby come he works very

closely with his family, just turned 19, he has recruited a coach for 25

weeks a year to add some experience into the coaching team, and that's

working well. I actually brought him into the last Davis Cup match

against France, and he was absolutely fantastic, and you could

see the qualities. He's got a lot of points from the Futures tour, which

is the normal route for someone coming out of juniors, and just

started to play Challengers recently, and just starting to find

his feet. There was a lot of healthy discussion around coming into wild

cards, with the All England Club, and it was decided that qualifying

felt right for this stage. And actually, if he can get through this

match which he is set and a up come he will have won a couple of

matches... We're just hearing, he's serving for the match. It is

absolutely terrific he's a terrific lad who is working hard, with a good

family and coach, and he has got a game. And I think this is a better

route for someone, winning a couple of matches, if he can get through

three matches, best-of-five sets, that is a signal of intent. And

actually, Andy Murray has had a huge influence on Kyle Edmund, and we can

see a picture from the French Open of Jay with Andy. Andy is an

enthusiastic supporter of him as well? Yeah, he knew what he was like

at Davis Cup, which Andy often does with the younger ones, Kyle Edmund

and others, he took him to Paris, for the preparation for the French

Open. Unbelievable experience for them, with Andy when his team. I

think he's certainly one for the future. I don't know if you had half

an eye on Marcus will is against Liam Broady in qualifying late last

night, when Marcus Willis came through - is he someone who has

missed the boat, or is the boat perhaps still in dock and he could

yet get on it? I hope so, he plays great tennis, especially on grass.

We saw that last year, and he's got great personality. That was a good

match, and Willis is playing well, and he will cause people problems.

He's got a great serve and a lot of skill in his game. I hope he can go

away now and play a fuller schedule. As we walked up here, I bumped into

Michael Downey, the chief executive of the LTA, and tomorrow is his last

day, and then there is a six-month hiatus before Scott Lloyd takes

over. Where do you think elite men's tennis is in this country now,

compared to where it was, say, five years ago, when Michael took over?

Well, it's a lot better. And most of that's down to the players and their

teams, obviously. We have continued to help when we can, as a

federation, but once the players get into tour level, it is really an

independent, professional business. Off the back of what Andy and Jamie

have been doing, and what Jo Konta continue to do, there is a feel-good

factor and a belief, and we have got a lot of success out of Davis Cup,

with those players being able to rub shoulders with Andy and Jamie. It

helps, when you hear stories like Jay Clarke Putin making inroads,

because he can then access time to these players as well. There's

certainly been improvements at the top end. It is a big shame what has

happened to down, obviously. But there needs to be more. There's

still too many gaps between where the tour players sit, and I include

down in that, for now, but then there is a chunk, not much, between

100 and 200. And that level is really important to have. We need to

have people entering the top 100. But is where the likes of Willis and

Clarke and Norrie and others will come in, hopefully. How far can Jo

Konta go, in terms of a Grand Slam, is she a Grand Slam winner in

waiting, do you think? I think so, I think she absolutely terrific. She

has got weapons, she has got an all court game as well, which I think is

very important. Because of her athleticism, she can hit big

winners, and that's really important. I have been fortunate

enough to spend some time with her, and I was with her as part of the

team for a couple of weeks in Rio, and her hunger and drive is off the

charts. We were watching the match between Kuznetsova and her opponent,

which is now all square, and you were saying that Kuznetsova, you

have never seen anybody with a work ethic like her, but Jo Konta is up

there? She is, she works so hard. If you're going to win a slam, you have

to, but she has it in abundance, Jo. She's another player, playing Fed

Cup, it all helps, with the younger players. I think you're going to,

take on Jo are you not? I am, and it is a great match to do some

commentary on. It is a great match, and it is also a long walk! Here's

Karolina Pliskova. And I think this is the match point, if I'm not

mistaken. It is. So, the mandatory handshake at the net, and she's

through against Peng of China. And so, this is what the draw looks

like, with Radwanska having gone out. Pliskova is one ahead of

everybody else, into the quarterfinals. But all the players

are expecting to play two matches today, although that will be

dependent on how long some games go, if we have some long ones. But by

and large, they are hoping that we will have the quarterfinal line-up,

maybe even semifinal line-up, sorted out by the close of play today.

Let's go to Centre Court, Leon Smith is on his way there, to join Sam

Smith. SAM SMITH: Jo Konta came out onto

this court to rapturous applause, and my goodness, when she was out

here, it was a day or so ago, she was outstanding, beating hi, assist

a of Romania, and it took just over an hour. -- beating Cirstea of

Romania. Today, she's up against Jelena Ostapenko, a name which was

sort of in the next 12 months ago as a very good junior, but now she

comes here as the reigning French Open champion, this hyperactive

20-year-old who is taking the tennis world by storm. We needed a new

star, we have certainly got one in Jelena Ostapenko, who loves playing

on the grass. She's an absolute star, but she's got a very tough

assignment here, in Britain's number one. Ostapenko won the toss, elected

to receive. It will be Jo Konta get this third round match under way.

Jo comes here as part of a pretty good grass court season. She went up

to Nottingham, and did well, at Nottingham, not so good, losing in

the second round to Coco Vandeweghe. Second appearance here for Latvia's

Jelena Ostapenko. She had a tricky match against Soares Navarro. But

was also a couple of days ago. And it is the Centre Court's first

to look at this incredible ball striking from this young player.

It's what Jo has got to deal with out here, how does she stop this

flow of winners? It's the first time these two have

met, so a little bit of settling down in the opening few minutes for

both players. And an ideal start for the French

Open Championship just to put Ostapenko into contact, if you

haven't seen her play - three years ago, she was the junior Wimbledon

champion. She furnished that year in the senior rankings at 300 in the

world. 12 months later, she was in the world's top 80. A year later,

she was in the top 50, and now, she's on the verge of the top ten.

It has been a very quick rise for her, only just turned 20, on semi

finals day at Roland Garros, and she took it all in her stride. Now,

superstar back home. This time last year, she was only

just graduating from the International House school in Riga,

where she specialised in languages, including English. If you are only

just getting your first look at what a precocious young woman and player

she is developing into. The American commentator Mary would

call this big baby tennis, there's going to be some heavy striking from

the baseline from both these two. This is going to be a matchup to

save over the next couple of hours. A cold and breezy day in Eastbourne.

Fearless tennis and a start with some confidence from Jelena

Ostapenko. I think we already realise after six minutes, Jo Konta

has got quite match on her hands. Leon, well done, you made it over,

up to the top of the stand! You covered the ground well! It was not

what you call a sprint for me, but I got here!

UMPIRE: Miss Ostapenko is challenging the call. It is a close

one, she's hacker to challenge it. She has got it right. Shy in coming

forward, and she's very pleased with herself.

Leon, the court is playing pretty low, its soft, but with this young

woman, it seems she could play on glass. What are the problems here

facing Jo Konta one I think that is a good example of what she's going

to have to do, use her hand skills, and other skills, just to cope with

the power. How big is this ball from Ostapenko? Well, we all watched with

astonishment what happened in Paris, the sheer pace that she has got, but

the fearlessness as well, that's what makes it dangerous. You can see

already, she's standing inside the baseline to receive.

I guess a bit of the danger is when the ball is coming so fast that

Konta, she feels the need to go back fast again, but she's probably just

going to have to try and lengthen the rallies kinder she can.

The coaching team of Jo. Andrew Fitzpatrick on the right, hitting

partner. They've settle down this year very well.

That is a gritty hold from the British none one -- number one, down

an early break in this opening set. Leon, you've obviously been around

Andy Murray for a very long time, and you seen him grow and fame and

everything that goes with it - where are the pitfalls? Jo now comes into

this event is the fifth seed, one of the contenders, and she got a lot

more going on for her. What can she learn from what Andy has been going

through, because next week is going to be something which even this man

cannot prepare her for, and he's been working with Grand Slam

champions? Yeah, and for Jo at Wimbledon, her home event, it goes

to another level. Andy, in his early days, had to learn on the job well,

that is part of it. But the team around her is going to be really

important. And Jo has done such a great job of becoming much, much

more composed, not just on the court but off the court, and that's going

to help her as she heads into all of these expert nations over the next

fortnight! It doesn't sound a nice place, does it?! But it comes with

it, and she's earned that the petitioners well, and she'll learn

from it as the years go by. And another player in the expectation

zone is Ostapenko, at the far end, seemingly dealing with it very well

here. She made a call, but you already

missed the shot. And then she corrected. That's why I just want to

know if you want to challenge or not. Miss Konta, challenging the

call. So, the serve was called out, and then it was said that Jo hit the

ball after the call, missed it, and then really, her only play was to

challenge it. And it was a correct call. That was a bit of adult

dinner! It certainly was, we got there!

There's an example of what Jo can do, she can certainly step inside

the court and look to be very offensive on the return of that

second serve. That's pretty impressive, to be able

to generate that sort of power off a lower ball.

She is a very self-confident young woman, spent her formative years as

a competitive ballroom dancer. Had to make the choice at 12. Not too

many of those in the sport! Think she made the right choice! And

that's a very good hold. We have had ex-swimmers and ex-footballers and

basketballers, Simona Halep was a gymnast for a few years. Apparently

she kept having to go away to tennis camp and missing out on ballroom

answering, and she could not get a decent partner when she came back.

That type of serving will certainly help Jo. She has got a great serve,

and good variety with it as well. It's important to get as many first

serves in as possible, so she's not facing those aggressive returns off

the second serves. Do you think that's an area she can

target, into that forehand wing of Ostapenko?

She's got one of these late contact points, ala Steffi Graf. And if she

is rushed, the racket tips open, and the ball can fly. But you go there

at your peril. Her racket work, it's something else. What I can't get

over, Leon, she on a grass court, she loves playing on this surface,

but her take-backs are so high, and the ball is so low. She drops it

down so quickly. I think we are looking at something really special.

Yes! Really solid game from Konta. Just keeps it to the one break.

Leon, I think we were all quite surprised that Jo switched coaches

at the end of last year. I have to say, the women's game's loss is Jade

Clarke's gain. Esteban Toledo has a phenomenal reputation. Can you see

what he has brought to her game this year, or is it just going to be very

small changes? One thing which springs to mind is,

it is either someone who has been there and done it as a player or

someone who has a very strong record of working with Grand Slam winners.

I know Esteban really well now, and I am super impressed with him as a

person, and as a coach, he is absolutely terrific, so it's no

surprise to see Jade Clarke and his family really enjoying this working

relationship. But with Wim Fissette, he has been there with Kim clusters

and other players. That's got to help, it gives you something else to

fall back on someone, knowing you're going to go deep into these

tournaments, to have those sorts of conversations.

Tell me about this serve. I'm amazed it held up in a French Open final!

So am I. That second serve, that could be an Achilles' heel,

especially has her reputation grows and people get to know her game

world. -- her game well. We have seen Andy Murray having to

work hard on his second serve to increase the speed.

Konta was broken rather easily in the opening game - a couple of

chances to get back on level terms now.

Jo Konta, feeling her way into this first meeting with the French Open

champion. It's the right mindset to have there from Konta. She's going

to win a lot of points by being very aggressive on that second serve

return. Signs that things are just starting

to turn, momentum with Konta. APPLAUSE

3-1 down just a few minutes ago, Johanna Konta, but no signs of

panic. She played so well in her opening match a couple of days ago.

Not too much tennis played yesterday.

That's an emphatic service game for Johanna Konta. Ahead now for the

first time in this opening set. Leon, just broadening out our

discussions about women's tennis, what are you seeing in the women's

game at the moment? We are going to hold fire here for one second...

After 3-2, you begin to open the court. Remember your speed in the

middle, then you open the court. On the second serve, don't give her a

lot of angles, because she is going for it all the time. Move into the

court and then you start to move her. At the beginning, fast middle,

and then you open the court. With the serve, stop to think what you

need to do. You arrive there, bounce and serve, without thinking. Put the

ball high above your head and use your arm. It's OK. But attention on

your legs. Stay low with the legs, pushing against the floor. Work with

the legs, active. She is a very good player, retired a few years ago, and

she knows her apples. That is a great piece of coaching. If I am a

player listening to that, I am starting to feel good about myself.

Important to have a clear plan. A couple of breaks so far. New balls,

Ostapenko at 3-4. I like what she was saying about

simple strategies. You can play fast through the middle on the first

ball, get her on the back foot, and then look to open the door.

UMPIRE: Miss Konta is challenging the call. You are allowed three

incorrect challenges per set. You get an extra one if it goes into a

tie-break. UMPIRE: The call stands. 30-0. Lots of things going on these

days in tennis, on court coaching just for the women's tour. If you

haven't watched too much tennis since Wimbledon last year, it is

good to have a little refresh. APPLAUSE

Well, Ostapenko has listened to her coach, who said, don't worry too

much about the angles on your second serve return, you can play it into

the body to take away the angles, and even by getting a little early

success with that change of tactics it will help, build that confidence.

I don't know quite what that was that was being moved off the court,

but it is gone. So, Ostapenko now very much back on

track. We have heard about the tactics that

Ostapenko will use, but what about Jo? How will she utilise what she

has got at the other end? Again, we are seeing this very calm,

composed young woman here, routine almost in the extreme. No sign of

panic yet from the fifth seed. APPLAUSE

I do like that serve, the swinging serve. You can go into the Ostapenko

forehand with quality, even though it is a strength.

Ostapenko is clearly using the tactics given. It must be great to

have player who rides to orders. No, Ostapenko on the march again. --

oh, Ostapenko on the march again. That one travelled as straight as an

arrow through the court. She has the ability to flatten the ball. She

just leans right through the shot. UMPIRE: Miss Ostapenko challenges

the call. A second challenge from Ostapenko, who already has got one

right. UMPIRE: The call stands. Not such a good challenge.

'S they will constructive point, that. We talked about getting good

depth, and she certainly got it there. It is important once you find

that depth and you get the easier ball, that you move into it quickly.

She did that superbly well there. That is a really tough hold from a

break point down will stop Johanna Konta, ahead once more in this

opening session, leading 5-4. Before we were rudely interrupted at the

last changeover, I was going to ask you about the wider sense of women's

tennis, and why you feel that maybe the top players are not performing

week in, week out. Do you have any idea what might be happening? It is

a really tough question. I didn't bring you all the way over from the

studio to throw you soft walls! I think, the emergence of other

players. Obviously, with Serena and then obviously Sharapova, years ago,

Azarenka, the ones that started to have a lot of power in the game, the

one not as many power players around, and it makes it more

difficult to establish yourself as consistently as they were able to.

But it has thrown everything open. Not one player has that dominant

game. We saw Kerber have such a terrific 2016, but then people

started to figure out a way of, OK, I know shout -- how she plays and I

can combat that. There was no one really emerging as that one player.

Maybe it is Ostapenko. Although she is diminutive in size, she has

unbelievable weapons, and that will be interesting to see if she starts

to pull back together. -- poll that together.

We talked about that late preparation, like contact time that

she has. It allows her to change direction at the last second. She

catches the opponent off balance. I'm sure Konta thought that last

ball would go back across the court. It was certainly the right option

there, the ball was hanging in the air, so why not? Take it out there

with a swing volley. Well, this is turning into some

first set. Ostapenko levels up with ease. This is the first event she

has played since winning the French Open, and she seems completely

unfazed by all the success. She is a superstar back home, and here she

is, composed, reset, 20 years old. Unbelievable. It is. It's a great

quality to have, especially with the way she plays, that fearless tennis.

And probably smart scheduling from her team, not to delve into the

tournaments beforehand. It allows you to settle and come back on your

own terms. We are seeing a lot of those plays,

aren't we? The swinging serve and then going big into the forehand. It

is a good tactic. Amazing how low back ball stayed. We

mentioned earlier the load balances. Barely a couple of inches there. She

does -- it does traditionally play a little quicker than Wimbledon.

She hasn't made too many wrong shot selections, but that one was a tough

one to pull off, defending that ball, going for a drop shot. The

wind is westerly, and it is funnelling around the Centre Court,

making things very tricky. This opening set is an arm wrestle. Konta

pushes ahead once more, 6-5 she leads, first set. Jo still trains

quite a lot at the NTC when she's in London. Her parents still live down

here, and I think that Eastbourne is home as well. You must have been

around a few years ago when she was in that 150-160 mark. What was she

like then in terms of training, personality? There was about a year

where I was head of men's and women's tennis. Lucky you! It was a

privilege. It was clear then that she was always looking for answers,

looking to learn and develop, very serious about tennis, and this was

her thing. It was her profession. Can I just ask, she plateaued for

about three years after being a good junior. Did you ever see her be down

and demoralised because she wanted it so much? You saw it come out in

frustration, especially the tension. Wanting it so badly. And often, that

type of character, when you are pouring yourself in, day in, day

out, and you don't get the fruits of that on the court, the frustration

and tension gets to be even more, and of course, everyone knows that

in the last couple of years, she has managed to get that composure. One

thing I know for sure is that she has not left any stone unturned. She

is always looking to improve. Ostapenko, for a second time,

serving to stay in this opening set. Oh, she is just nailing these second

serves. And how well Jo Konta has turned this opening set around, down

a break, 3-1 down, triple set point for the British number one.

That is Ostapenko all over. Would you describe that as fearless? Why

not? It will take something special to save this service game, and that

is a pretty good start. A little wry smile from Konta. The

top players know all about this. Word has got round the locker room

about how fearless Ostapenko is, mac ten, no matter what the score. And

that is a very popular outcome to the end of this opening set, and it

is Britain's number one, Jo Konta, who takes it 7-5. STUDIO: That is a

proper match on Centre Court. There have been some really good games

being played on the outside courts as well. Simona Halep not very happy

at being banished to Court number four. She has beaten Pironkova of

Bulgaria in three sets to go through to the next round with Caroline

Wozniacki, who won very easily against Elena Vesnina. This is

Svetlana Kuznetsova just a couple of moments ago, winning her third set.

It was a fantastic match against Kristina Mladenovic. I mentioned

Simona Halep winning on Court number four, and she has been replaced

there by Britain's Heather Watson. There she is. She will be playing

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the world number 14, from Russia, that match

about to get underway. Here we are, back on Centre Court. Let's tell you

about J Clark. We were talking to Leon Smith about him. It is not

funny, because there is a certain irony to it, because everyone on the

courtside at Roehampton was under the impression it was the best-of-3

sets, so when he won a second set, there was rapturous applause because

everyone thought he had won, but it is the best of five Imran three. He

is still two sets to the good. The Austrian is 2-1 in the second set,

on serve. Right, back to this match with Jo Konta one to the good.

Anyone watching this match, Leon, who is playing at Wimbledon next

week will not fancy playing Jo Konta on grass when she is playing like

this. Absolutely not, a terrific first set from Konta, especially

when you think about the start of the set, when she went a break down.

She then started to stamp authority on the match, and that is how much

she has grown as a player, that she is able to carry that early

disappointment and turn it round in her favour. Doing great.

With the news that Konta has won the first, I think the sun has briefly

come out, the wind is up, which will dry the court and make it play a

little more truly. I'm not sure the players will enjoy the wind. You

can't have it all. She has had a lot of success with

that swinging serve, but that time, you would think Ostapenko would

start covering that serve and move a little earlier.

That was a tough shot to take on, because looking at the flags from

the southern end, where Jo is, the wind is blowing from left to right,

so you would need to aim towards the middle of the court to get it

anywhere near the tramline, and that is the adjustment. This is a hard

court to play on. Ostapenko... Disgusted with herself

not making that passing shot. This is why it is sometimes worth

venturing to the net. There is another example of the

relentless but easy power she is able to create on the ball.

It's not surprising that the double fault will come in on key points

because of the way that Ostapenko is really being aggressive on the

second serve return. It is normal for a player to put a little bit

extra on it. Nicely done. What is the best

serving pattern for Konta in this matchup? As we have been alluding

to, she has been using the swinging serve, trying to rush the forehand,

then opening into the backhand side, which is an obvious pattern. She's

changing it up a bit more, maybe because she senses that Ostapenko is

reading it. Very interesting that in the French

Open semifinal, against Timea Bacsinszky, Timea Bacsinszky came

off and said she could not believe how many winners Ostapenko hit. She

was taking a one in ten chance of making it and making it all the

time. She just couldn't believe it. It was outrageous.

Just drifted long. I think a lot of the top players who play Ostapenko

for the first time have got to contain that outrage, that, I can't

believe she has made that, because that can get you in a negative

spiral. You have to accept people who play like John Isner, on the

men's site. You have to accept and take your chance.

This is gritty from Konta, she's trying to keep the Genie in the

bottle out here. She's doing a good job, finding those Serbs again,

going big into the backhand this time. Not quite sure why Ostapenko

decided to challenge that one, that was pretty obvious, even from where

we are. Third deuce in this game. And it's another break point for

this young Latvian. It's interesting. Sam, you were asking

about the pattern of serving, just little signs that Jo Konta is not

white sure where to go just now. The danger of going into the backhand is

that I think the Senna counters on that side very well. -- I think

Ostapenko counters on that side very well.

Not sure whether Jo's mum and dad are here. They live down on the

marina, I know that mum gets very, very nervous, tends to watch from

behind the server! -- from behind the sofa.

Just look at the numbers, Leon? Thanks for giving me just a split

second to compute them! The important thing from Jo Konta, when

you're playing somebody as aggressive as Ostapenko, really high

percentage of first serves in is going to be crucial. That's the

third line down. At 63%, that's good, especially because we know

Konta is going after her serve. But she's being smart, she's using the

swinger, and every now and then, she will go for the big flat once.

There's some good signs of how she's serving.

I was about to say, that was the perfect return, but that was an

amazing reply from Ostapenko. Difficult shot there to try and

make, a drive volley when the ball is that low.

Yeah, that was inside the line. We need characters, and we've got one

in spades here, haven't we? We certainly have. She is a cracker!

She's not taking herself too seriously. She is a lovely young

woman, I tell you. Gee whizz! . I mean, that is

precision tennis at its best, just near the sideline. That is a

difficult shot, but she's able to direct it with great accuracy. There

is a wow factor to Ostapenko, we've seen it in games is throughout her

junior career, and first few years in the prose. She plays with passion

and love of the game. See certainly does. And she's got the weapons to

go with it. I can do it, too, says Jo!

Not about three points in a row there from Ostapenko. Vicky Brooke

come her agent, who has had a busy assignment than she might have

realised when she took over 18 months ago! Yes. Also agent to Jay

Clarke as well. That phone will have been ringing nonstop, I would of

thought, with the rise and rise of Jo Konta. Vicky and Jo played a lot

of junior tennis together, and Jo requested the as her manager. Konta

has got a chance to make a significant move here. She has

created this pressure, she has done a great job in this game of getting

balls back. I think Jo might have been called in

two minds there. There was a lot of space on the other side, but she

decided to go back across. Both women having to save break

points, and Ostapenko comes through with aplomb.

It's such a good serve, that one that Jo has, creating such a short

angle. How does she do it?! It's like a

luminous green! It's just unbelievable that you're able to

send the ball but hard and that accurately back. Amazing rhythm and

timing to be able to do that. It just feels out here that there is

a little fire burning up the other end, and Jo is trying to put water

on it, foam, blankets, to try and keep it from becoming some sort of

huge situation. And she's doing a very, very good job so far.

I don't know how you legislate for this kind of tennis from this

extraordinarily self-confident 20-year-old, who says, I back

myself. She's got a break point here.

What a wonderful smoked, and how often we've seen that today, when

she has needed to come up with a big first serve, she's managed to find

it. Serving her way out of trouble. Jo

Konta keeps control of this third round match, 2-1 she leads, second

set. Anabel Medina Garrigues is back on.

She has to go back, her speed is going down, so try to play a more

deep at the beginning, the first one or two shots, to make her to go

back, and then, you're going to have the opportunity to move her. Move

more on the forehand side, she has more problems with the forehand

side. And with the serve, she's serving 80% to your forehand. Why?

And on the more important point. But it's good, you are playing good. How

do you feel? Tell me. She's taking my mistakes, two errors in the whole

match. It's OK, if you push your level a little bit higher, it's

going to be better. And the score is very close. So, keep working, and

keep playing aggressive, but deeper. If you could combine the attributes

that Anabel showed on the tour, of toughness and hard work and

relentless effort, with the talent of yelling, you've got a superstar.

Yeah. I like her coaching, I think it's some of the best I've heard.

I'm not saying I'm a fan of the coaching taking place, incidentally!

But I think the coaching is really good! Next change of ends, we are on

it! Very interesting, they have had on

court coaching on the women's tour for close to eight years, and

they've got some data from the last three. What the data is saying is

that after on court coaching, the player does not always win the next

game, but there is always, pretty much a bump up of performance.

That's some response, a second love hold for Ostapenko in this match.

You are allowed to have your coach on once in a set in the women's

tour. She will not be allowed to bring Anabel on at Wimbledon, not in

the slams. But if your opponent takes a medical time-out or there is

a bathroom break, you can bring your coach on for an extra session.

That's pretty much how it works all year round on the women's tour. Some

players use it, some don't. It looks like Jo isn't going to use it.

There's a slightly different serve, we haven't seen too much of that.

Once or twice, Jo has served it into the forehand body of Ostapenko,

which is a good idea when somebody has a fairly high swing.

What unbelievable athleticism from both players. Yeah, this match has

only just got going! SAM SMITH: Not afraid to show how

she feels, Jelena Ostapenko. Anabel has been clamping down on a few of

the histrionics! LEON SMITH: Terrific point from

Konta, just stamping her authority. I like it when she looks to take the

forehand early. Makes the swing a little bit more compact.

Ostapenko wants to have another look at it. Well, that's not a surprise -

she likes to challenge. That's taken a big piece of the

line, and so we are on serve here in this second set, Konta having won

the first. Leon - on court coaching on the women's tour, thumbs up,

thumbs down? I'm moreover thumbs down, I think. Maybe not enough

consistency behind it. I think... I think it would make more sense if

you do it at every event, including the slams. They don't do it there,

so why would you do it the rest of the tour? I'm not sure there's a

huge amount to gain from it. It does put some accountability on the

couch, in that moment. We've seen Anabel Medina Garrigues, who has

spoken terrifically well to her player, and is no doubt making a

difference. But for other coaches, it depends on their style, whether

they're going to get enough out of it, have they got the communication

style to go on and deliver succinctly in that moment? But I

just think the consistency thing for me, if you're going to do it, do it

the whole time, if not, leave it alone. And also, the way that our

sport is played is the ability to think your way out of trouble. I'm

not saying one conversation per set will change everything, but I like

that part of our sport, where you're constantly problem-solving. You're

in company, on that one. What we must say is, the standard of

tennis is excellent out here. The long-time coach of angelic calibre

there. -- of Angelique Kerber there. I don't know how she does that

sometimes. It is a great return from Konta, it's early, it's accurate,

somehow with that forehand, she's able to wrap the racket around the

outside of the ball and create that angle. A true counterattack in every

sense of the word in those situations.

And it's back-to-back love service game for Jelena Ostapenko. Her level

is on the rise. I have to say, the opening service game of this set

were a real battle for both of the players. The last few service games

have gone by pretty quickly. Just absolutely terrific watching

Ostapenko's backhand, when she's got time on the ball, with a slightly

longer swing, she's really able to hit through the line of the ball.

There's another one of those screeching winners. At the French

Open, they clocked the speeds of her various groundstrokes, and I think

we were all rather amused to hear that in Paris, Jelena Ostapenko hit

her forehand harder than Andy Murray. Not sure what Andy made of

that? No comment! That was a chance, it wasn't the

best of second serves from Konta. Plenty of time for Ostapenko to line

up that forehand, but it was one of the few that she did not get hold

of. Eight aces now for Konta, it's not

just a number of them, it's when she has been serving them, at the

critical moments. Absolutely. What a shot that is! That ball was

barely bouncing off the court, so therefore it is difficult to get it

up and down in time. Such are her skills and the racket speed, she's

able to get just enough topspin so that it tips before the baseline.

Steffi Graf raced this court on many an occasion, and I have to say,

these shots are Graf-like. Absolutely. I don't know what the

Latvian is for Fraulein forehand, but she has got it. And Ostapenko

gets the breakthrough. I'm not sure Konta did an awful lot

wrong in that game. Looking at her serve percentages, she's at 67% in

this second set. Impressively, Ostapenko is at 90% of first serves

in, which is impressive. What has blown everyone away about Ostapenko

is, she's just suddenly able to produce winner after winner at any

given time in a match. And at the moment, Serena is not out there, nor

is Maria, Azarenka has just come back there's not really anyone out

there that knows what to do with this game. I'm sure a lot of the

coaches will be on their devices, looking at the stats, and over the

next few months, they're going to try and work out a game plan. I'm

sure. And that's the beauty now of the analysis tools that are out

there. The WTA creating a lot of the information. That's what Wim is on

right now, the tablet which has been specifically designed for lunar

coaches on the tour, and that is giving him up-to-date information,

service direction, first-served speed, everything you could ask for,

it's an amazing innovation. Especially if you're being called on

for on court coaching. For example, 80% of your first -- of her first

serves are going to your forehand, fact - start covering it. Talking to

Colin, who's working with Heather Watson. He says the information is

absolutely terrific. There is a sense out here that this

crowd who have been enjoying watching this match have not been

investing in it. They have understood that Jo is in a little

trouble here. Yes, it just sometimes takes a bit

of time for the crowd to get that energy and maybe drop some of their

inhibitions and make some noise. It is OK to make noise cinema it helps,

and players like it. -- it is OK to make noise - it helps, and players

like it. Konta has done very little wrong

here. But suddenly, there is a breakaway in the second set. The

British number one finds herself serving to stay in it, which happens

so quickly. It was quick. Even the game where she got broken at 3-3,

she didn't do much wrong. Even at deuce, she had a second serve of 97

mph, which is big, but Ostapenko was able to get onto her forehand and

start dictating play, and it is her who has that extra bit of confidence

right now in her ground strokes. Just one break in the second set,

three in the opener, a very tight match.

Water terrific response from the loose error in the previous point,

and she constructed that point on the front foot, looking to come

forward as well -- what a terrific response. She volleys well. UMPIRE:

Less Konta challenges the call. She might want to have a look at that

one. -- Miss Konta challenges the call. UMPIRE: The call stands.

Well, that is certainly tennis of the highest quality, just when she

needs it as well. Crucial, crucial point there.

Well, it is the irrepressible force of the French Open champion, Jelena

Ostapenko. She is now at set point. UMPIRE: Miss Konta is challenging

the call. She still has two left. UMPIRE: The call stands.

What a response from Jelena Ostapenko! And she levels the match.

The Latvian takes this second set, 6-3. STUDIO: Some serious hitting

there, and if you did not see her during the French Open, Ostapenko's

forehand is several miles an hour faster and harder than Andy

Murray's. That is the kind of ammunition that is heading Johanna

Konta's way now. On Court number four, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

against Heather Watson, and this is set point. Well done, Heather, one

set to her. 6-4. That is happening at this moment. News from Wimbledon

qualifying, where we were talking about J Clarke, the 18-year-old from

Derby, who was 2-0 up in sets against his Austrian opponent. You

can see it is now 2-1 and 2-2 in the fourth. Anybody's guess at the

moment. This match on Centre Court, because of the schedule changes, the

next match on Centre Court will be Caroline Wozniacki against Simona

Halep, the sixth seed against the second seed, and that will be on

after this match. Johanna Konta at the start of this contest was 5-2 on

to win this. I wonder what the bookmakers see as the balance of

power now? Let's go back to the Smith team. COMMENTATOR: Scotland

and Essex in one commentary box - it probably shouldn't be allowed. What

now for the decider? What Ostapenko does will dictate a lot of that.

You're right, Jo did not do a lot wrong, but Ostapenko raised her

medal. She made a lot of returns and started to make a lot of winners. I

think she caught Konta off-guard. She was serving well, the stats were

good, up at around 70% of first serves in in that second set, but

they kept coming back, and it will be interesting to see if Ostapenko

can keep her level now. At the same time, we need to see Jo just cut out

a few of those errors. She has to apply pressure early in this third

set. It is that type of play that can

really help her. If she tries to go toe to toe, Ostapenko has a slight

edge in the weapons. Jo Konta can throw those angles on. She can play

with more top-spin on the forehand, play with more width. The variety

could help her. Already an important moment here

early on in this opening service game. Konta doing a good job just to

establish a lead. Well, you can just see her getting a

little hitchy at the back of the swing. It stops the racket

accelerating at the back of the ball. -- up the back of the ball. Jo

had a break point the opening game of the second set, couldn't take it,

and it will be the ease little micro-moments for Jo that will

decide the outcome of this match. What a shame she couldn't just keep

extending that rally, keep the pressure on.

UMPIRE: Miss Ostapenko challenges the call. Jo seems pretty confident

on this call. UMPIRE: The call stands. That is one from five now.

Well, what a second serve that is, especially at that moment. It tells

you an awful lot about the character of Ostapenko, being able to come up

with this type of second serve, when she has not got a great second

serve, let's be honest, but she finds it when she needs it.

Four games in a row now for Jelena Ostapenko. The momentum of this

third-round match going with the young Latvian. And we have blue sky

- it feels like days since we have seen one. I did not pack my

sunglasses, thought it was a pointless exercise. Maybe I should

have thought again. Some more perplexing and confusing numbers for

you, Leon. OK, the second set summary, what springs out? The serve

percentage springs out, yet again. Look at Ostapenko, 87% of first

serves in, a big shift from what happened in the first set, and that

is why the momentum is starting to come with her, she was able to hold

those service games more comfortably.

Jo was involved and has been involved in quite a few 3-set

battles over the years. Garbine Muguruza in this round a couple of

years ago. And Petra Kvitova last year. So, very happy to go the

distance. Particularly in the third round. It may be an omen.

I think that is the other thing that happened throughout the second set,

Konta still serving well but look at that return, just deep, fast, giving

Konta no time on the ball. She has not found a way to solve

this particular problem. That's what tennis matches are always about,

they are a Rubik's Cube for you to deal with. She got a lot more free

points in the first set, Konta, from those type of service, now the ball

is coming back and she's having to work that bit harder.

She loves that play. She loves the backhand after the survey. She had

lots of control that, creates good width and

that felt like an important moment early in the third set to weather

the storm, hold serve, despite the pressure Ostapenko is putting Konta

under. It's a good response. That's a tough shot to change

Limond, it came back with interest, really fast and low over the high

part of the net. That was a tough one.

Yes, she is looking but it's very early to go with the challenge.

Looking straight at her coach, he's probably about ten metres to the

right of her. You cannot write this. That is a

supercharged forehand. She has been given the window of

opportunity to get back into this. Just a nice reminder from Konta that

she can also connect with some of these returns in that way.

That was awkward. Not entirely intentional. Konta can build

pressure here, another break on the Ostapenko serve.

Konta raising her level, she gets the early break in the deciding set.

She leads to- one. I said before, keep going, OK? Start

to play more aggressive. Who hits first is who won the point. Keep

thinking on that. Every shot, behind the ball, push against and

aggressive, OK? You changed your mentality here, you were saying,

come on, that makes the change. Think on that. Sjoholm you are going

to fight until the last -- show her. Remember what she does on the serve,

the directions. They started working together in April this year a few

weeks before the French Open and the chemistry has been excellent. That

was the last throw of the dice, early throw of the dice from Jelena

and you can come on willy-nilly. This is the final and deciding set.

There will certainly be an actress bring in the step of Konta at the

moment. Looked like it was going to be an easy hold for Ostapenko in the

last game but she let Konta into it and took a chance.

This is what players face when up against Ostapenko. When you

mentioned it earlier, Sam, all of a sudden she connects with the ball

and there is nothing you can do, you are not serving badly, making the

wrong decisions, she's just got it on her racket that is often is going

to be on her terms at the outcome of point.

That ball has been bouncing within inches of the baseline forced a very

hard to get hold of. Jo was getting a grip on the final set and finds

herself at break points down in this game for an immediate break back of

serve. There goes up they grown around the

tennis court. Ostapenko, who I don't think many will know much about.

Just over an hour and three quarters long, high-level contest, and we are

none the wiser as to the outcome. -- a groan. It is set fair for the rest

of the afternoon into the evening. So, Ostapenko, new bourse. Who do

the new bourse favour in this matchup? There is a big difference

from the last old balls to the ones that come fresh out of the can. In

this situation it gives her a bit of extra pop in her serve and it helps

Ostapenko. Yes. You could see that ball flying along. It helps her get

on the front foot early on, and helps her on the front foot as well

if it comes to that. The men are so much more aware of the change of

balls than the women. With the women it just goes by, they don't realise.

There was no change in racket and string tension. The men decide

exactly when they will change the racket. Everyone has their own

routines on that, of course. But, of course, the new balls are a little

greasy and they can fly on new. That's probably the main reason for

the last double fault. She went to be aggressive with it but there was

not enough spin on it. She has served seven in a match

against Carla Suarez Navarro. It is something that her and Anabel work

tirelessly on the practice court. They know it is an issue. A foot in

the door again for Konta. That was a smart serve. Based on those double

faults. She doesn't have a lot of spin on her second serve so there

isn't much margin. That's something that could be worked on overtime.

She went to Konta can't get the breakthrough

despite those couple of double faults from the young Latvian.

Ostapenko rather confidently walks to the chair 3-2 ahead on serve in

this deciding set. You would say sitting here that you can sense the

tension has gone up here. The quality just dipped a little with

some errors and double faults from Ostapenko they gave Konta those

opportunities. She wasn't able to get momentum into the game. You can

tell we've gone through the stage of flawless tennis, both players

playing well. Now we are into the third set the stakes are high and a

few more errors are creeping in. When it gets to that stage it is who

can step up and who can get momentum and rhythm and get some consistency

in the play again. Conditions have certainly changed out here. When you

came to the studio from the commentary box, a couple of hours

ago, it was heavy and dark and damp. Now the court is drying and the sun

is out. I think it might be time for an ice cream. I think the van might

be doing some good business and after a quiet few days. This is a

proper Eastbourne sunny afternoon. Cream tea just around the corner.

You can tell I missed lunch! Are you OK, Sarah? Those other nasty clouds,

they can go away, the ones over the South, they are OK.

Konta is on serve, 2-3, third set. UMPIRE: Miss Konta is challenging

the serve. She was getting ready to walk across

the court. It has to be. That has to be Konta's point, the call came so

late. The umpire is clear on that, she knows that Ostapenko is not as

clear as the umpire or Konta, but she is now.

That is very much an Ostapenko point, going the ground strokes. She

is quick to come in for those drive volleys.

Yet again it's the power off the racket of Ostapenko that is causing

the issues. Just look at the intent of Ostapenko

right now. Right on the line, that's another

one of those superb returns. It might be the difference in this

matchup. Ostapenko, more break points on the Konta serve.

Terrific point from Konta. She needs to reassert herself right now. She

has fended off six of ten break points in this match.

I'm afraid it's long. That might just be the decisive break. At the

first meeting of these two, the battle of the Js, Jelena against

Johanna. Especially on return of serve she just keeps asking

questions of Konta. Getting her first serve return back and on her

second serve she is able to really impose herself. That's more like it.

All of a sudden Johanna Konta decides to step it up, couple of

fantastic returns. A couple of doubles in her last

service game looked as if they might be expensive. They weren't. But that

one might be the one that allows Konta to break back. She's got three

chances to do so. UMPIRE: Miss Ostapenko is

challenging the call. Considering her record out there she is one from

five at the moment. We always try and glance at the umpire to see what

sort of signals they are giving off. You don't need to tell me what just

happened. Huge roar from the Eastbourne crowd and we are back on

serve in this final set. Sometimes there is patterns in matches,

sometimes there isn't. Only a few minutes before. There is some

confusion about Garrigues coming on for coaching. She's already had her.

You are allowed one per set. Konta has not been off for a bathroom

break and she will not want to. She will not give any little window to

get her on. And looking down at Johanna Konta's coach and I'm pretty

sure he has not been miked up and there has been a decision, loss of

the players do this, Johanna Konta is seven in the world a lot of the

players a few weeks before the stands on the tour they don't have

their coaches on. It makes complete sense, why would you do something

you will not do at the biggest event? That is a no-brainer, good

decision from Konta. One thing I'm going to pick up from the coaching

team that we mentioned, I feel sorry for Andrew Fitzpatrick when labelled

as a hitting partner. It doesn't sound in a. Former player himself,

600 in the world. -- in a. Dani Vallverdu, travelling with Andrew, I

thought that's not fair, they do weigh more than that. I am with you

there. On serve after four breaks in this deciding set, 3-4, Konta.

Unsurprised Ostapenko is often able to get that ball under control,

below one, she is a flat hitter of the ball. She adjusts really well on

those low ones to get just enough top-spin to bring the ball in.

This is a big moment. This is when Konta will need to draw upon her

experience. I would label that one bonus point.

You've been given that one, so now go and win this one,gen-mac. Lucero

on the forehand side of Ostapenko. We don't see many of those. -- Jo.

-- loose error. There is a word everyone uses about

Jo: relentless and meticulous, she has needed both of those qualities

to stay in this match, despite having won the opening set.

Another tough holes after being broken in her two previous service

games. It is all to play for in this third-round match. Especially when

she was faced at 0-30 in that last game, Konta, and put in a couple of

first serves that she dumped into the net. That was a very important

hold of serve. She got completely caught out by the speed of the

second serve. 94 mph, far faster than she normally hits it.

This matches into its third hour. Because of the rain delays this week

and matches backed up, the winner of this match will have to again later

this evening. Yes, write to the line. Jo Konta giving Ostapenko some

of her own medicine. Absolutely. Two in a row. Phenomenal returns. She

has enormous experience at the tournament. Semifinalists last year,

quarterfinalist, the year before. This is looking good for the British

number one. Can she take these chances right here?

There it is again. Konta in front in this deciding set. 5-4, she leads.

What a time to find your returns. Absolutely phenomenal response. Just

when we thought Ostapenko really had a foothold in the match, Konta

responds with a terrific run of games. She must have a backlog of

confidence, playing brilliantly at Sydney at the beginning of the year,

and demolished Radwanska in the final. The win in Miami. One of the

biggest titles on the wooded's tour. She is every inch a top player. On

the women's tour. Those returns off the first serves of Ostapenko, three

of which have landed pretty much on the baseline in that game, to get

that break. We see her sitting there, composed, ready to go, being

clear in her game plan. The sideshow what a good place she is in. --

these signs show. She came back to win the opening set. The second set

went away a little. There have not been any anxious looks at the

coaching team, she has not called them on for on court coaching. The

camera zoomed in and he does have a microphone. She is taking full

responsibility. That is the right move. Why would you when you are

moving into a Grand Slam, way you will not get on court coaching? It

has been a battle for the British number one. She is serving now for a

place in the quarterfinals. That is an important point to win,

the ground stroke exchanges. It is as if the Ostapenko returns

have a magnetic attraction to the baseline. I think the wind has

picked up. We can see with the flags and trees in the background. More

blustery conditions. I liked when Jo uses the angle

forehand. She does play with more top-spin when she wants to but it is

more difficult on the grass to create that angle.

She will be seeded 13 for Wimbledon. Number 14 in the world. The seeds

bumping up because of the absence of Serena Williams.

We saw that across the first set when she needed a service winner, a

big serve, Konta was able to come up with it.

Konta in her hometown. This has been a labour of love for the British

number one and here she stands at match point.

It is just a winner machine. It is but I think Konta was caught out in

two minds. Do I go in, do I not? Not a great position. Take nothing away

from the passing shot. I do not think she would have got there

anyway, Konta. She has needed all her composure

over the last two hours and a quarter, Johanna Konta.

It is long. Just for the moment we thought it might drop. And now,

these fans, they are living every point. They are feeling it and made

no Konta needs that support. Ostapenko was pretty lucky. She

thought, I will leave it, no, hang on, it might go in, and she ended up

running for the ball. That was a solid second serve from

Konta. You do get thrown about when you are up against Jelena Ostapenko.

It is a different experience for these top players.

There it is! It is battling brilliance from Britain's Jo Konta.

No wonder she is getting a great round of applause. Now the noise

comes through. What a gutsy performance from Johanna Konta. She

had to dig deep. It looked like it was slipping away in the third set.

Ostapenko will be back here many years, a popular figure, but it is

all about Jo Konta. She deserves that victory, she fought hard, there

was quality. Nerves and tension in the final set, but she kept

composure. No matter what happens, a match like that before going into

the Championships next week is gold dust. She has grabbed her bags. A

third quarterfinal for Jo. She has just gone down to the interview

position and any second now... We will hear from her.

She is with Annabel Croft. Well played, a terrific contest

today. Give us your thoughts on beating the French Open champion for

the second time. I think the scoreline and match itself shows it

was an incredibly tough battle. There was little in it and she was

playing very well and against a player like her it is difficult to

accept you do not have much say in some points, but I tried to fight

for every point. I did the best to stay solid and also to try to take

advantage of the chances I created. There was a lot of tension in the

last game with match points and facing a break point. How did you

hold your nerve? On pretty much both of the match points before, she

played incredibly well and hit two winners and won those points like

that. I had good access. I knew I was trying to play the right way and

had trust in that sooner or later I would keep taking my chances. You

have a busy afternoon because you have to get back out against the top

seed and world number one Angelique Kerber. Give us your thoughts on how

you match up against her. I have not had the opportunity to beat her yet

and I will try again this afternoon. It will be a different match than it

was this morning, early afternoon, so I will prepare the best I can and

most importantly recover as quick as I can after this round and really

enjoyed the fact I got another match today.

We interrupted you eating a banana. I need to let you get back to that.

Energy all right? I am all good. I am not the only one in this position

today and everybody is playing, I am sure, mainly on adrenaline. Back to

the banana. Get the energy on board. We look forward to the next one.

STUDIO: Next update is Angelique Kerber, the world number one, and

that match will be at some point this evening but there are issues

about scheduling. Next we will see Caroline Wozniacki against Simona

Halep and depending on how long that lasts, it might be Britain's Heather

Watson going on to play next against Barbora Strycova because she has

come through against Pavlyuchenkova stock she said how much she enjoys

the grass court season and she is playing well at the moment. I was

watching from afar and she was playing aggressive, positive tennis.

Barbora Strycova, her opponent after beating Lauren Davis of the USA 75,

6-2. Lauren Davis was blighted by injury time-outs and medical

interventions, so it was not the hardest match for Barbora Strycova,

who will have to play Heather Watson this evening. Mentioning the next

opponent of Johanna Konta, this is confirmation of Angelique Kerber's

victory, which was straightforward. The world number one is through to

play Jo and this interview was done before Konta won.

How are you feeling? You must be delighted it was not three sets like

yesterday? I am happy about my game today. I was playing aggressive,

trying to go for it if I had the chance. I am happy about my game

today. You have two wins, how are you feeling going into the next? I

am feeling OK and will get ready for the next today and trying to play

like I played now. You had a left eye injury before the tournament and

pulls out of Birmingham, but how are you feeling now? The body is good.

Having two matches today, we will see tomorrow, but right now I am

feeling good. It is good to be healthy again, because I had

problems the last two weeks but I am good to go now for the next. Do you

feel you have settled into the grass court season? I love to play on

grass and I am happy to be here and playing again on one of my favourite

surfaces and I am looking forward to the next ones. You have Johanna

Konta or Ostapenko, a tough match. I am just happy to be in the next

round and I will try to play good tennis again and try to have fun and

trying of course to win the next match. All the best in the

quarterfinals. Ladies and gentlemen, Angelique Kerber.

STUDIO: We reached the point at 4pm on Thursday and organisers thought

they would hope for a 10am on Thursday morning but we got there in

the end. All of these matches will have to be played tonight which

means everybody will have had to play twice. Lauren Davis of the USA,

if she had beaten Barbora Strycova, would have had to play three games.

This is some disappointing news for Jay Clarke. Two sets to the good

against his opponent. He would not have been human if he had not allow

thoughts of getting through to the first round of Wimbledon next week

and never mind anything else, ?35,000, which pays bills at 18. But

he faded away and lost in the end. Leon Smith is here. That is

disappointing for him. It is tough but he should be proud. One year out

of juniors and had not won a Challenger until last week and here

he is in the last round of qualifying getting to play in the

pressure moment and five set match, and it will help a lot. He's a great

kid with a wonderful attitude and will go from strength to strength.

The good thing is that he has a main draw wild card for the doubles and

he will experience the Championships in that capacity. Never under

estimate the difference between best-of-3 and best-of-5. You can do

it in practice but it is not like doing it for real. Never mind the

physical attributes, it is the emotional. Two sets up and he starts

thinking, this is going to happen. He will learn from it but he has had

a terrific two weeks. What a shame the Johanna Konta Ostapenko match

was not best-of-5. It was very good quality. We looked forward to that

match and it lived up to expectations, terrific

entertainment, and Jo Konta shows how far she has come in handling

those moments. Her serve is an attribute. For Jo Konta, it is, it

saved a lot of moments in the first set and the final set. She managed

to come up with it importantly when it mattered. That is the key, and

she is able to swing it out wide, but has the flatter up the T, or the

wider on the ad court. The second serve, although Ostapenko is sitting

far inside the court, Johanna Konta is serving well and that serve will

help over the next fortnight. Ostapenko took the tennis world by

storm in Paris. She is a staggeringly entertaining person to

watch although I imagine unbearably frustrating to coach because the

forehand especially, when that is going well, it is like watching

Steffi Graf. But there is not much percentage tennis. As you say it

makes her difficult to play because normally the feeling that someone

might just come down to third gear at key moments, she does not, she

goes after the ball. It is probably why she will become a popular figure

because she just goes after it. It is difficult to get rhythm that way

because you do not know what will come off the racket and she keeps

going after it. If you were coaching her, could you incorporate into her

game, just get it back and see where we are, or would that diminish the

product? I think so, sometimes you can say where you will play it with

the same offensive hit. She will go after the ball, but what I enjoyed

was hearing the coaching, it was terrific coaching. You get a mixed

bag on some coaching moments but she was clear with a plan and when you

hit the ball that hard and that often, if you know where you will

play at it takes some of the decision-making away and you can

focus on execution. How would you assess Johanna Konta's performance.

She has just beaten French Open champion and that is good. She

played a long match and she was down in the third set. Quite a day to

beat the French Open champion and world number one in the same date.

You would have to say that would be above average! But she have earned

it. A quick word about the business at Eastbourne. It has been a

phenomenal few days and even allowing for weather interruptions

and the reason for that is Novak Djokovic sprinkling stardust on

sleepy Eastbourne. It is great for the game. For people to watch

someone of his stature within world sport, to be able to watch him at

close quarters in this environment? It is, and Gavin Fletcher the

tournament director when he got the call from his team saying he would

like to come down, he must have fallen off his chair and then some

because that is a great phone call to get. The layout at the practice

courts, you are at the side, you can get the sound of the ball hitting

the strings, how hard he is working. You are a matter of feet away from

one of the greatest ever players. It is huge for the tournament and it

has caused a lot of excitement. Depending on when the phone call

came, he might have thought it was somebody in the bar somewhere! This

is the men's drawer. We cannot show the men's matches for contractual

reasons. Djokovic, he will play Medvedev. He will be a big star in

the years to come. Gael Monfils has beaten Bernard Tomic. They both seem

to be grinning all the way through that. John Isner against Richard

Gasquet is a match of contrasts. An interesting semifinal line-up in the

men's draw. We have Simona Halep playing

Caroline Wozniacki now on Centre Court. What did you make of Simona

Halep falling at the final hurdle in Paris? Having had another look at

Ostapenko, you can see how it would happen. Sometimes you look at the

player who have the lead, like Simona Halep, but there was someone

on the other end of the court to have something to say about it

because of the way they played. It is not about a collapse. Her game

style is not to go after the ball. She is solid, in incredible mover,

she will grind opponents down but when Ostapenko goes up a gear from

nowhere, it is difficult to change your game and it runs away with you

at Ostapenko then got a wave of confidence. She will have other

moments in her career. She is too good not to create moments when she

will challenge for Grand Slams. Now is the time, and that is a good

thing about what happened from Paris, not a huge amount of time,

you can regroup and get focused. She is a Harrier and she scurries. Is it

more of an advantage on clay? Yes she becomes difficult to break down

on the clay court as we have seen many times. On the grass, players

can get more free service point winners so do not have too

entertained long exchanges, or they can get first strike in the points

and attack the second serve. But she is a good player and the way the

court is playing, it is quicker here, and in Wimbledon you can get

more extended points. For her, it will be the clay she has more

opportunities on. We will let you go back to the commentary box. You are

earning your body today! This is the next live match. Depending on what

happens later for Heather Watson and Johanna Konta, you will be able to

see those matches on the red button later, depending on the schedule.

Here we go with the next match. COMMENTATOR: I will time Leon Smith

from studio back to commentary box. A fifth meeting between these two.

Expect a big hitting from the baseline from these two. The second

Match Of The Day with the Straits sets win for Wozniacki against

Vesnina. Simona Halep was playing a match that continued from last

night. Wozniacki entered the tournament

last year in the 30s in terms of ranking. She has moved up 30 places

to number six in the world. And number six seed here. A former

winner in 2009. By contrast for Simona Halep, it is

her Eastbourne debut. Taking a wildcard in the event and playing

her first event since losing in the French Open and also her first grass

event, for Caroline Wozniacki, who is looking for her fourth semifinal.

It is going to be slightly brittle from the back of the court from

these two. Both aggressive on the baseline, good on defence, good

movement. The first time they have met since 2015 and their first

meeting on grass. Great accuracy from the Romanian.

Fought - zero becomes deuce, first game of this contest at Barbora

Strycova or Heather Watson awaits the winner in the semifinals, their

match to come a little later due to all of the bad weather we have had

barring the first day which was glorious. And had to play match

after match just to catch things are. -- 40-0.

It is good hitting for both of them but for the moment it is Simona

Halep forcing the errors off the racket of the Dane. Opting to wrap

up a bit in the long sleeve top and three quarters length leggings

underneath the skirt. Conditions have warmed up a bit but it's still

cooler than it has been. What a shot from Halep. From 40-0,

Wozniacki, she is broken. Simona Halep takes that game. It is the

fifth meeting between these two. For Simona Halep it's been a pretty good

season. She likes playing on clay. Looking for a bit of confirmation

from the chair umpire. Wozniacki saying if it was a bit later on I

might have challenged. As it is Simona Halep has game, break and the

balls and now serve. With their heavy breathing you might

be able to hear it is Leon coming up the stairs. That was tough work! I

don't think it was a record. I got stopped at the barrier, the Stuarts

did their job. It is a fairway from the studio to

hear. As the weather gets warmer I bet you have found more and more

people throwing rocks at around the court. I was pretty nimble. I was

trying to give you some excuses. I was slow, that's it. It's OK.

Immediate break back points for Caroline Wozniacki, a lot quicker

than the Wozniacki serve when she won the first three only to be

broken. Simona Halep lost the first three on serve.

Loose shot from Halep, break to love. What we are going to see is

lots of aggressive hitting from the baseline. Yes and probably a lot of

rallies as well. Both more comfortable with extended points.

They both play aggressive tennis but it's mainly at the back of the court

and they both like to move a lot. Both players enjoy that side of the

game and pride themselves on their ability to cover the court really

well. So this could be a really long one.

I mentioned it's their first meeting since 2015 and their first meeting

on grass which might change things a little.

We should not be surprised to see that type of rally. Both players

trying to move around the court but in the end excellent from Halep

opening up the court. S we still have the westerly breeze

going from left to right and I'm pretty sure I've seen the sun. There

is a bit of sun around. Not a lot left now. I will be honest. Clinging

onto some sun. That is the first hold of the match

and it goes the way of Caroline Wozniacki, holds to 15. The last

game is an example may be of where Wozniacki on a grass court might

have the slight edge, the ability to take the ball that little bit

earlier. Flatten out the ball a little bit more. She will certainly