FORMER champion Marion Bartoli says Jo Konta lacks the magic touch needed to win Wimbledon.
Konta is the bookies’ favourite to become the first British woman to win at SW19 for 40 years as she bids to beat Simona Halep in the quarter-final today.
But plain-speaking 2013 winner Bartoli has given a withering assessment of Konta’s game and believes she will be found wanting.
French ace Bartoli, 32, said: “I love the way Johanna competes on the court, I love the way she is so stable mentally, she is really very consistent in her level of play.
“But that said, she doesn’t bring anything extra special.
“She is lacking a little bit of firepower, or that shot that can really make you win a Grand Slam.
“And when it comes down to winning a trophy like this you have to go and earn it, no-one is going to give it to you by making 50 mistakes in a match.
“I still feel she is lacking a bit of that.
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“It’s a work in progress with her coach but she needs to find a way to get a little more power in her shots, period.
“So when she has a return of serve on the second serve she can really hit a winner, or if she has an easy ball on the forehand she can every time hit a winner.”
Bartoli, who retired from playing a month after she lifted the title at Wimbledon four years ago, still believes Konta can triumph over Halep in the third match on Centre Court today.
But she fears she will be blown off the court in a semi-final where she is due to face the winner of the Venus Williams tie against French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Bartoli added: "I know the Brits are all over Jo Konta but I still feel the winner of the Venus Williams against Jelena Ostapenko match will probably have a good shot to win the whole thing.
"Venus is so experienced winning five times in here and Jelena is just carrying so much confidence on the back of winning at Roland Garros.
"She can really hit you out of the court completely with her power.
"I feel the winner of this match will probably have a good shot to win the whole thing.
"I feel those players will be able to hit just a little bit too hard for her.
"When you look at the past winners here, they are all players who have been able to hit a lot of winners."
She added: "The game of Simona will suit her well because Johanna doesn’t like to be rushed.
"If you look at her last two matches against opponents who were hitting a good ball, Simona is a player who likes to counter-punch more.
"Johanna will have all the time to play her shots, so I think this will be a good match-up for her.
"Now Simona is doing the same as Johanna just a little bit better in every department, so it is going to be down to the mental strength from Johanna in trying to stick in there.
"She has to hang in there because we have seen in the past Simona can be a bit fragile mentally to close out matches."
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