Konta eyes childhood dream with Serena clash

The 25-year-old ninth seed, Britain’s last hope of a singles title after Andy Murray and Dan Evans were bundled out on Sunday, took 69 minutes to send her Russian opponent packing in temperatures approaching 35 degrees Celsius. It secured her a first meeting with 22-times grand slam champion Williams, who won the first of her six Melbourne Park crowns when Konta was an 11-year-old growing up in the Sydney suburbs. 

“She’s one of the players still playing who I looked up to as a young girl wanting to be a professional tennis player,” said Konta. “It’s an incredible honour and I will cherish every moment out there.” It was with her run to the semi-finals as world number 47 at Melbourne Park last year that Konta first gave notice that she had the game to take on the best in the world. 

Konta has shown enormous mental fortitude in reaching the last eight without dropping a set after demolishing the hopes of Caroline Wozniacki, Japan’s Naomi Osaka and Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens.