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Caroline Wozniacki fought back from a set down to beat Johanna Konta 4-6 6-1 6-4 and book her place in the quarter-finals of the Nature Valley International.
It is the fifth time in the last six years that the Dane has reached this stage in Eastbourne and she is hoping to follow her good run here with success at Wimbledon.
“The target is always to win,” Wozniacki said. “But you have to beat a lot of tricky opponents to go all the way.”
“I think I play great on grass, and I see no reason why (I can’t win). I think if there is one Grand Slam that I think I have the least chance of winning, it’s the French Open.”
“But I think Wimbledon, US Open, Australian Open – I don’t see why not.”
The World No.2 said she hopes her form in Eastbourne sets her up well for Wimbledon, but admits there are too many uncertainties to be sure how things will go at the All England Club.
“We never know,” she said. “I try my best every year, and we’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.”
Wozniacki fights back after slow start
In today’s match against Konta, the Dane was broken in the opening game as her British opponent made the stronger start.
Wozniacki fought back to break to love in game six, but Konta responded by breaking the Dane again. This time it was decisive, as the Brit went on to take the first set 6-4.
The World No.2 made a great start to the second set. She won a closely-fought game on her serve and then earned an early break when Konta hit a forehand just long.
After that, Wozniacki never relinquished control of the set as she eased to a 4-1 lead. She then watched as the pressure got the better of her British opponent and she made a succession of errors to hand the Dane a double break.
Belatedly, Konta found her rhythm again to save four set points in game seven. However, Wozniacki eventually clinched the set with a good forehand winner followed by an even better backhand winner.
Wozniacki rewarded for consistency in decider
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In the decider, the Brit clung onto her serve in the opening game thanks to a wide ace and an excellent forehand winner.
However, when Wozniacki returned superbly in game three, Konta crumbled and lost her serve to love.
The Brit then produced some fantastic tennis to break back. She rallied extremely well to take one point, hit a forehand winner to earn two break points, and eventually took her fourth break point with another forehand winner.
After all that hard work to break back Konta will surely regret what happened next. She played a terrible game to drop for the second time in succession.
It cost the Brit dearly, as Wozniacki held comfortably in her next three service games to secure victory.
When Konta broke to make it 2-2 in the third set, many people watching the match would have expected it to a long set. But Wozniacki said she was not worried.
“I don’t really think you think about it like that,” she said. “It’s obviously frustrating when you’ve gone a break up and then get broken right back, but you just have to stay calm and focus on the next one.”
Wozniacki to face Barty in last eight
In the quarter-final, the Dane will take on Ashleigh Barty, who dispatched Su-Wei Hsieh 6-0 6-4.
“She’s a tricky player who plays really well on grass and obviously feels very comfortable and confident on it,” Wozniacki said.
“She serves very well and has that slice that stays low in the grass, so I’m going to go out there and just try my best (against her).”
The Australian is exactly the kind of player Wozniacki will have to beat if she is to have a chance of winning Wimbledon this year.