Johanna Konta faces major Wimbledon test as Cibulkova aims to prove her class
The British number one may have her work cut out.
Johanna Konta will on Thursday feel the knock-on effect of Wimbledon’s decision to make Serena Williams a seed.
Dominika Cibulkova would have been seeded 32nd had Wimbledon chiefs not granted seven-time champion Williams special dispensation, which was down to the American’s ranking falling when she took time out to become a mother.
It meant Slovakian Cibulkova was bumped out of the list and she now faces Britain’s 22nd seed Konta in a second-round meeting.
It is a match both players would have preferred to avoid, at least until later in the tournament.
Cibulkova had previously claimed the decision to rank Williams at 25 was “unfair”, as it left her unseeded and able to face a star name in the early rounds.
But after a first-round win over Alize Cornet, Cibulkova told Press Association Sport: “It is what it is, it will not change.
“It doesn’t make sense to think about it, I just have to play well to keep going in the tournament.
“Obviously it would be better to play Konta in the third or fourth round so it’s a very tough second-round match.
“But I’m really looking forward to this match. I’m feeling fine on the grass.
“I would say it’s one of her favourite surfaces, but it’s also one of mine so let’s see what happens.”
Konta won their two previous meetings on hard courts but this will be their first on grass.
The British number one said: “I’m looking forward to it. She’s probably one of the best competitors on tour, and has been for quite some time. She’s a feisty player.
“I think it will be a great test for me to keep a good kind of focus on controlling what I can, accept that she’s going to fight her way into some points and really stay there until the very end.”
