By Chris Lehourites
LONDON — Britain’s biggest hope for a women’s champion at Wimbledon worked her way into the third round on Wednesday.
Johanna Konta trailed early, but managed to come back and hang on for a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10-8 victory over Donna Vekic on Centre Court.
“It’s a nice feeling not to have to keep going out there,” Konta said. “We were out there a long time and both of us battled incredibly hard.
“Whoever was going to draw the short straw was going to be hurting.”
Konta, seeded sixth, is in the third round at the All England Club for the first time in six appearances. She reached the final at a grass-court warm-up tournament in Birmingham last month, but lost to Vekic.
“I think I overall trusted my game a bit more this time,” said Konta, who is trying to become the first British woman to win the Wimbledon title since Virginia Wade in 1977. “I’m definitely here with the intention of wanting to be a part of the event for the full two weeks.”
When the Wimbledon gates opened Wednesday morning, the race was on to get the best spot on Mount Murray.
The hill next to No. 1 Court at Wimbledon, formerly known as Henman Hill and also referred to as Murray Mound, was a coveted spot for Day 3 at the All England Club because Konta and Andy Murray were scheduled to play their second-round matches on Centre Court.
Thousands of fans on the grounds and without tickets to the main stadium often gather on the hill to watch the action on a giant TV screen.
The area was named Henman Hill in honour of Tim Henman, another British player who never was able to win a singles title at Wimbledon. The nickname shifted to Murray when he came on the scene; he eventually ended the country’s 77-year wait for a homegrown men’s winner in 2013.
Following Konta’s victory, Murray was due to play Dustin Brown.
Rafael Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion, will be on Centre Court after Murray against Donald Young, while five-time champion Venus Williams is scheduled to face Qiang Wang on No. 1 Court.
Other women’s winners on Wednesday include former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka and eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova. On the men’s side, ninth-seeded Kei Nishikori, 12th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 16th-seeded Gilles Muller and 24th-seeded Sam Querrey advanced.