Coco Vandeweghe hammered Johanna Konta 6-1 6-3 at the Aegon Classic to set up a mouth-watering quarterfinal clash with Garbine Muguruza. The American sent down plenty of huge serves and hit winners from all over the court in a totally dominant display which demonstrated every aspect of her grass court prowess.

However, Vandeweghe did not allow herself to get too excited about the victory. She said, “All you can ask for is coming out there being focused, solid and executing the game plan, and I did that.” The American used her power superbly to dictate throughout the match. She said, “That's my game. It's how I'm going to beat opponents. That’s how I've played my best tennis, you know, in Australia beating Kerber and Muguruza and things like that. But I'm not going to be out there grinding it out, especially on a grass court. That's just a little asinine.”

Vandeweghe also stated her belief in the importance of routines. “I'm a big believer in routines. Whether it's a good or bad day, routines are my go-to to settle down, because emotionally you're trying to keep as much of an even keel as possible. You practice for days like this and you also practice for bad days to get through them as well.”

Next up for Vandeweghe is a quarterfinal against Muguruza, who she thrashed 6-4 6-0 at the same stage at this year’s Australian Open, and further ahead there lies the possibility of a title challenge at Wimbledon. She said, “As I've learned the more Grand Slams that I've played, you need a little bit of luck, especially when the weather plays a part like it does at Wimbledon. And I've had experience so far this year of going a step closer than my previous best, which was quarterfinals, to semifinals. So all you can ask for is to play match by match.”

“I've never really looked ahead. You can ask me who I'm playing in the next round and I can't tell you until someone lets me know because it doesn't really matter who you're playing in the next round unless you get by the first one. So, I just focus on the first round and continue doing well here at Birmingham because when you win matches and you're riding confidence, you're always going to play better.”

Muguruza will also head into her encounter with Vandeweghe ‘riding confidence’ after an emphatic 6-1 6-4 win over Alison Riske. The most impressive aspects of the Spaniard’s performance were her total command of the match situation and the sheer consistency of her groundstrokes. She said, “I was hitting the ball pretty well. I think she (Riske) was also playing pretty well. There were a lot of rallies, which is not usual maybe on this surface, so I think it was a good level of tennis.”

Muguruza continued, “I felt comfortable out there. I think both of us enjoyed the way the other player hit the ball. And that's why we were playing good points and serving well. And we were fighting. I actually enjoyed some of the points.”

The Spaniard finished her match before Vandeweghe beat Konta and, despite her negative head-to-head records against both players, she did not seem at all concerned about who she might face in the last eight. She said, “I don't even know who I'm playing, so right now I don't know. I don't really care. I just will go for the match. I don't look at, oh, I lost it last time or she beat me. For sure you remember, but you get a new match. Nobody really cares, unless it's something very important, but if you lose to somebody, you are happy to play them again and get revenge.”

Muguruza is often talked about in the media as a potential Wimbledon champion in 2017, but she thinks the wide-open nature of women’s tennis right now might hamper her chances. She said, “I feel like because the three or big names or whatever are not playing now, everybody is thinking, oh, that's my opportunity or I should reach the final. And in fact, it is not happening for a bunch of girls that maybe were like the next ones to win. So I don't really know what to tell you. I think everybody is playing very good tennis, and I see the winners, and it's the players that weren't the favorite and they managed to win the title. So, I think it's very equal.”

The Spaniard believes her experience at Wimbledon might help her do well there again. She stated, “One of the good things about experience is you are more consistent. When you're young and talented, you can have a break-through one week and the next you can't play. Then you have another good week. So the good thing about that is we (experienced players) know how to manage a tournament because we’ve been there before and know what to do. So that's what I'm taking with me.” Whatever Muguruza and Vandeweghe go on to achieve at Wimbledon, their quarterfinal showdown this week in Birmingham promises to be fascinating viewing.