Konta was playing in the main draw at the Australian Open for the first time, after losing in qualifying rounds for the previous three years.
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So it wasn’t a surprise to hear Serena Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, speak matter-of-factly about his pupil’s first-set display in the Australian Open semifinals Thursday that left Agnieszka Radwanska utterly helpless in one of the biggest stadiums in the world, Rod Laver Arena.
Radwanksa said there will little she could do in the first set to combat Williams, “she started unbelievable, with such a power and speed”. The American resisted the brief fightback to win 6-0, 6-4.
“I’m pretty much the female version of Jason Bourne”, Konta said Wednesday, making a rare analogy to “The Bourne Identity” at an Australian Open news conference, where she has spent the past 2 weeks increasing her profile in the tennis world. “I think she sent me a text message, but I don’t know what she wrote yet”. “But otherwise I didn’t really think that I was playing bad”.
When Konta beat her Wednesday – after a match point decided by a net cord – she walked up to the net and gave Zhang a good, long hug. “I saw the match today against Aga”.
Kerber said courtside after the second semi-final: “This is a really special moment”.
And, Great Britain thanks her for that.
Leon Smith, GB Davis Cup captain on 5 live: “Jo should be so proud of herself, the way she’s played and handled herself”.
“She (Kerber) took out a really tough opponent in Victoria (Azarenka)”.
And she has the self-deprecating humor to prove it.
With the roof drawn back, it was plain the crowd were with Sydney-born Konta.
Often, players set a goal to break into the Top 20, or reach a certain number in the rankings.
Murray said he was “very excited to have a British woman in the latter stage of a slam”.
The only member of the current top 10 not to reach a Grand Slam final until now, Kerber had come tantalising close with semifinal runs at the US Open in 2011 and Wimbledon in 2012 but never quite seized her breakthrough moment.
Now Kerber struggled, and she was visibly annoyed when a backhand billowed the net on break point on her serve for 3-all after 25 minutes of absorbing, if error-riddled tennis.
One punter feigned his best British accent, shouting ‘jolly good show!’ from the stands – and it was, as Konta broke again and held to lead 4-3. All that had gone before was irrelevant.
Not that she’s a spy, or a fictitious character of any kind, but Johanna Konta does have a multiple identity and a few passports.
She held to love, securing the set with a neat chip down the line to end a quality rally.
Once, however, Kerber broke for 6-5 the match decidedly swung in her favor.
Konta produced flashes of form but she struggled for consistency, off the ground and with her serve.
Down 3-1, Konta again had to come from behind, but Kerber seemed liberated by her advantage and was striking the ball cleaner than ever.
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She became a British citizen after her family moved to the UK. Could she break the solid German left-hander to extend her run, though? A final backhand drifted long, her 36 unforced error, and it was done. “They’ve been staying up all ridiculous times of the morning”, Konta said during her on-court TV interview Wednesday.
