Williams pulled out of the lead-up Hopman Cup midway through her first match with knee trouble but looked untroubled as she burned around the court to fire 26 winners past the Taiwanese.
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While the American was making her 16th appearance in the Australian Open main draw, this was Konta’s first, but it was the Briton who was in control for all of the one hour and 19 minutes in Rod Laver Arena.
Although Williams fell two matches short in NY, she only added to the numbers that make her the most accomplished player of this generation.
On Wednesday, Federer extended his streak of reaching the third round at the Australian Open to 17 consecutive years. The 35-year-old didn’t strike her serve with authority – her average first-serve speed was less than 100mph – and she also struggled to match baseline blows with the in-form Konta.
The 34-year-old’s 6-2 6-1 6-2 victory set him on a path he hopes will end with a first title in one of the sport’s majors since he triumphed at Wimbledon in 2012.
Maria Sharapova of Russian Federation serves the ball to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus during the second round match of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 20 January 2016.
“Yeah, I watch it every day”, deadpanned Williams, when asked if she had seen a recording of the match.
“I don’t think it’s gonna be easy”, she said.
“I was really focused and, you know, that first round really helped me because I was really just fighting”, Williams said.
She may not be as tall or as powerful as Konta but Zheng plays with some good court smarts and speed, so Konta will need every ounce of her concentration and iron will, from the deliberate serving action to calming her nerves should she find herself in that position once more.
Digging up her past, she said, has been “really interesting and scary at the same time”. Not surprisingly, the difference in the match was Federer’s precise serve.
“It was something I’ve never experienced in a match, so it was very unfortunate”, said Tomic. “There is no more thing to do than keep practising hard, keep practising the same way that I was doing the last four, five months”.
The fifth-seeded Sharapova won the 2008 Australian title and has lost three finals at Melbourne Park, including last year’s decider against Williams.
Other seeded players advancing included No. 6 Tomas Berdych, No. 7 Kei Nishikori and 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic.
“This is where I played my first Grand Slam right on this court and I’m still going, it’s such an honor”, said Williams, a six-time champion who has a 70-9 record at Melbourne Park.
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Also on Tuesday, No. 3 Garbine Muguruza needed exactly an hour to beat Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit 6-0, 6-4; No. 11 Timea Bacsinszky advanced over Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 7-5; and No. 15 Madison Keys, a semifinalist past year, had to save set points in the first before beating Zarina Diyas 7-6 (5), 6-1.
