Defending champion Serena Williams ramped up her bid for a 22nd grand slam title with a dominant 6-1 6-2 win over unseeded Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei to charge into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday.
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And so 12,000 miles away in the first slam of the season she found herself looking across the net at Williams, who has won seven grand slams, who reached the final here 13 years ago, who had fought back from illness to return to the top 10 for the first time in five years and who still represented a genuine threat.
American tennis player Venus Williams.
Those who might not have been familiar with Konta or her journey (even though she was born in Sydney) surely were aware they were witnessing the dismantling of a once-great player, the oldest in the tournament but still a Williams sister. Although Williams had her thigh strapped and struggled throughout, she was also left floundering by Konta’s impressive all-round game. “I think I just needed a break”.
“I don’t really know”, Serena said.
Aljaz Bedene, Britain’s number two who has switched nationality from Slovenia, lost 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7/3) to America’s Steve Johnson while qualifier Dan Evans was also beaten in straight sets, defeated 6-1 6-0 6-4 to Feliciano Lopez, the eighth seed from Spain.
To be fair, when you’ve spent 19 years being questioned about your ball toss, your family and your next opponent the gloss is bound to have worn off. Being the greatest player of the modern era carries an expectation her predecessors weren’t burdened with. “I had to serve well and as the match went on I started to feel better and better”.
Kei Nishikori reached the third round of the Australian Open for the sixth consecutive year, beating Austin Krajicek 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Margaret Court Arena.
Keys beat Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 7-5 (5), 6-1.
“I have a very strong belief in the way I want to play, the way I want to think”, Konta said in her on-court interview, via ESPN.
Because of her nationality switch, Konta is unlikely to be back on the main showcourt for her second round encounter with Carina Witthoeft or Zheng Saisai.
Venus, 35, was the oldest woman in this year’s Australian Open field. This was her first time playing in the main draw of the Australian Open.
Nineteen-year-old wild-card entry Noah Rubin got the biggest win of his career, upsetting 17th-seeded Benoit Paire of France 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) for his first Grand Slam victory. Today again, I just wanted to stay focused for the whole time.
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At the tail end of past year, as both players were having a well-earned spell of resurgence, Konta had a chance to play against someone she admired, pushing Williams to three sets in the Wuhan quarter-final. “So in that sense I’m a bit of an anomaly”, she said.
