Wimbledon Ladies - Day 8
The Ladies Quarter-Finals are scheduled for Tuesday, although Mother Nature may have the final say on how many of them actually get played.
Johanna Konta is assured a match of course, as she will be on Centre Court, and the likelihood of the roof being closed gives her a little boost ahead of her match with Simona Halep.
Konta was made to work to beat Caroline Garcia, but her form has been strong lately and the numbers stack up in her favour ahead of this match. Looking at hard and grass matches over the past 12 months, Konta has held her serve in 82% of games, and broken her opponents in 39% of games. On the same metrics, Halep has only held her own serve in 65% of games, and broken 38% of the time. Altogether much weaker numbers, and this could be the key in this match. Konta can be backed at 10/11 and that's big enough to tempt us in.
We also like the look of Magdalena Rybarikova when she plays Coco Vandeweghe. The Russian has won both previous meetings between the pair - dominating on the Birmingham grass - but that was in 2011 when Vandeweghe was just breaking into the Top 100. Things have changed now of course, with the American into the Top 25, but Rybarikova has been progressing superbly on the surface and appears to be benefitting from an early and sustained transition to grass immediately after the French Open.
She first went to Surbiton, taking the title with ease. She didn't drop a set, and beat Zarina Diyas, Oceane Dodin and Heather Watson along the way. A semi-final at Nottingham followed - losing the Konta eventually - before travelling to Ilkley where she banked her second title in the month. At 6/4 she looks great value in this one.