Do not ask Johanna Konta to think about her semi-final against Venus Williams on Thursday. Do not ask her to put into perspective what she has achieved in the first eight days of The Championships. Just talk to her about muffins. She likes baking muffins. Muffins are safe.
Konta reached the last four in SW19 for the first time in her career on the back of an enthralling, cannot-take-your-eyes-off-it win over Simona Halep 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-4.
It was two hours and 38 minutes of all-or-nothing play from both women, both of whom had so much on the line. If Halep had won, she would have become the world No.1. That Konta did win put her one step closer to becoming Britain’s first champion in 40 years.
“It’s a little bit surreal just because it’s incredible how quickly things go in tennis,” Konta said. “So I’m definitely digesting things a little bit.
“I definitely felt very clear on what I was trying to achieve out there and regardless of whether it was going my way or not, I felt that I stuck to my true self and just tried to create as many opportunities as possible.
“I knew that she was really not going to give me much for free. I definitely had to be the one out there to make my own chances and I felt I did that – and I feel fortunate that I took a few of them.”
Her newfound hobby of baking has been the talk of SW19. Happy to chat about her latest creation and what she intends to try next, Konta is cheery and chatty.
But when it comes to the day job, she refuses to look forward, she will not look around her and on no account will she look down. It is all part of the “process” that keeps her in the moment and in the winning groove.
But the muffin schedule did look to be in serious danger as the match began.
Played under the roof, the lid kept the atmosphere in – and there was plenty of that now that Konta’s profile is growing with the local public – but it also intensified the pressure.
Not only can you hear a pin drop as a player prepares to serve on Centre Court, but that clatter as it hits the ground echoes eerily around the stadium when the roof is closed. It is not the place to be for those of a nervous disposition.
And for the first few games, Konta was nervous. Halep had set off at rocket speed to scoop up the first three games. She was serving well, she was clobbering her ground strokes and she was leaving Konta, normally so dominant from the back of the court, flat footed. But all of that was about to change.
As Konta remembered to breathe – always a handy hint for the elite athlete – she settled down. The backhand started to find its range, the serve started to fire on all cylinders (as she headed to the tie-break, she had missed just two first serves and had notched up a 94 per cent accuracy with the shot) and she broke back and then held for 4-4. Game on.
Now into the meat and drink of the match, Konta and Halep were matching each other shot for shot. There was not a gnat’s whisker between them and no one could guess who would emerge victorious.
On the evidence of the first set tie-break, though, the answer was Halep.
The problem for Konta was finding a way to keep the ball out of Halep’s reach. She put it everywhere she could think of – forehand, backhand; short, deep (mainly deep) – and yet every time, Halep was there in time. It was as if she was moving on jet-propelled castors and even at full stretch and at full pelt, she could land a winner on a postage stamp.
By the second set, every one of Konta’s shots had to be inch perfect or she was in trouble. Service games would move to a healthy 40-0 lead and then Halep would run and retrieve and rally. Konta was hanging in but Halep was showing signs of shaking free and accelerating away.
As Halep served to stay in the second set, she had made just five unforced errors; Konta had made 26. There was a dead-eyed accuracy about her, like a gun slinger in the Wild West: the first one to blink would be a goner. And Halep had not blinked since the warm-up.
So, if the French Open finalist would not blink of her own accord, she was going to have to be pushed into it. And Konta did just that in the second set tie-break.
Twice she pulled the errors from Halep’s racquet, staying in the point and manoeuvring her into places she did not want to go. After one hour and 50 minutes, she had levelled the scores at a set apiece and the crowd was on its feet.
When Konta broke for a 3-2 lead in the third set, that very expensive roof was almost lifted from its moorings. Virginia Wade, Britain’s last champion in 1977 and last semi-finalist in 1978, could barely breathe as she watched from the Royal Box. But steadily and impressively, Konta homed in on her place in the last four.
There may be many more muffins to be baked before these Championships are over.