Kerber served out the set to love.
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The second set opened with a break apiece before Konta latched onto another unforced error from Zhang to go a break up, before holding serve to race 3-1 in front. Asked if she would seek Graf’s advice ahead of the final, Kerber said: “Steffi, write me please!”.
Azarenka said her loss could be put down to “a bad day at the office” but it was also due to two periods of extreme hitting by the German.
She won over the crowds with her athletic, chase-every-ball style, squatting into her forehands and backhands for extra power. “She definitely raised her level and made me work for it. It was a great battle to be a part of”.
Speaking about why her game has improved so much, Konta said: “I think really understanding why I was playing the sport and really finding my enjoyment within the sport, really separating that enjoying from results is a huge factor”.
Kerber was playing in her third career Grand Slam semifinal-and she will play in her first Slam final on Saturday-but she nearly didn’t make it past the first round, facing a match point against Misaki Doi in her opening match before prevailing 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-3. Konta laughed. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change it”. That’s all you need to accept about that. “I got a lot of messages yesterday”.
Konta’s story was the type that tennis fans never tire of – the talented but unnoticed player who seemingly comes out of nowhere to beat a champion.
A BBC and Buzzfeed News report which coincided with the start of the Australian Open alleged 16 players – all ranked at some stage in the top 50 – had been flagged for being involved in matches where suspicious betting activity was detected. I was working very hard in the last few years.
“I think so. There was just no mistake”.
Making history has not always come easily to Williams, who past year crumbled when two wins away from the calendar grand slam, which would have been a first since Graf’s in 1988.
With the roof closed on Rod Laver Arena because of rain showers in the area, Williams broke Radwanska’s service to open the match and was rarely troubled in the 21-minute set.
BELARUSIAN IMPLODES Williams brushed aside Maria Sharapova in her quarterfinal and faces Agnieszka Radwanska today for a place in the decider. “But otherwise just too good”. With her run to the semifinals in Melbourne, she’ll rise to No. 3 on Monday.
“And I’m very proud of Jamie of course”. You go on court and you lose 6-love in 20 minutes.
“That was a pretty brutal match”, he said.
Her grounded expectations have served her well over the past six months. Like I keep saying, I don’t look at myself in the mirror and say: “You’re number this in the world”.
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Azarenka, nicknamed “Vika”, had lost just 11 games in her four matches prior to meeting Kerber and was seen as the main threat to Serena Williams’ relentless march to a 22nd Grand Slam crown.
