JO KONTA fought off a ‘Spartan ‘ to make it through to the second week of Wimbledon for the first time ever.
The British No1 came through 6-4 6-1 against Greek star Maria Sakkari, coached by former Andy Murray advisor Mark Petchey.
Sakkari revealed before this clash that Petchey calls her ‘Spartan’ on account of her dad hailing from the area.
But while the 21-year-old battled hard she was unable to slay No6 seed Konta, who looks in the form of her life and a genuine contender for this year’s SW19 crown.
The Aussie-born ace was superb on serve in the opening set, barring the eighth game where she had to recover from two break points down for a crucial hold.
She changed racquets immediately after that game and it was smooth sailing from there.
Sakkari displayed decent power but it was still not enough to outdo Konta’s impressive strength, particularly on her forehand.
There is still room for improvement with the No6 seed at times a little wild which means she hits long more than she would like.
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But that is to be hypercritical of yet another impressive performance that set up a last-16 clash with French ace Caroline Garcia on Monday.
Konta negotiated her way through a 12-minute opening game to break her opponent, before doing it again for 3-0.
At that point the watching Ann Jones, 1969 Wimbledon champ, decided the match was over as she exited the stands.
And when Sakkari hit long at break point at 5-1, it was all over in 1hr 16mins as Konta walked off to warm applause.
Sakkari’s mum Angeliki Kanellopoulou was a former tennis player who quit the game at 25.
Kanellopoulou warned her kids off the sport due to the travelling, financial hardships and loneliness that come with being a pro.
Yet world No101 Sakkari will make £90,000 from this tournament alone - justifying partly her decision to ignore her mother’s advice.
Her display suggested there is more to come from the youngster in the future.
Certainly there is more to come from Konta. And given she beat world No1 Angelique Kerber at Eastbourne last week, there is every reason to believe she could go all the way next week.
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