IT was the greatest compliment but at the same time the worst thing that could possibly have happened to Jo Konta that she should be considered a threat to Serena Williams at the Australian Open yesterday.
By winning the Sydney title earlier in the month and then ripping through her first four matches in Melbourne she had caught the attention of the 22-time Grand Slam winner and, as normally happens in this kind of situation, the American raised her game to devastating effect.
Williams beat Konta 6-2 6-3 to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne, where she was due to play the unseeded Croatian, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni overnight.
It was a masterclass in controlled aggression as Williams, who is chasing a seventh title in Melbourne, attacked every Konta second serve, was thumping groundstroke winners throughout, and seizing the initiative at every opportunity.
Williams said she believed Konta would be a future champion, but the British No.1 experienced first hand just how far she still has to go if she’s to be a match for Williams in the future.
“I think it was probably one of the best experiences of my life,” she said. “I think there are so many things I can learn from that, so many things I can look to improve on, also acknowledge some things that I did well.
“Credit to her, she played an almost perfect first set. I felt she really did incredibly well. She just showed and shows why she is who she is.
“I definitely would have liked to have probably had a bit more say in the match than I did,” Konta added. “But unfortunately that's also so much to do with Serena herself – the kind of tennis that she plays.
“I don't think there's one player on tour that goes up against her and feels like they've got much of a say in the matches. That's what she's very good at – the way she's able to dictate and the way she's able to really make sure that the matches and the points are on her terms.
“I don't think she really does anything badly. She has the ability to just really impose herself in every area of the court. Even if she's on the defence or even if [not] it makes you feel, I think, that you have to do more with the ball. So she makes you feel that pressure. I think that's what she's able to do very well.”
Konta didn’t serve as well as she would have liked but she competed well and despite Williams ripping through the first set, she broke the American’s serve to lead 3-1 in the second, only for Williams to string five games in a row to secure victory.
“I told Johanna after the match, the best Serena will win every match, we have to realise that,” Konta’s coach, Wim Fissette, said. “Serena was not 100 per cent but she was at a very high level, especially in the first set.
“For Johanna, it was a bit difficult to realise, or to make a decision for herself after that first set, is it me who’s not playing good enough or is it Serena who is playing that well.
“That is the first time Johanna played Serena and I think she couldn’t find an answer, that’s why I felt personally she wasn’t really ready to take that opportunity in the second set, or wasn’t as positive about herself at that moment to take the opportunity to maybe change the match.
“But I must say Serena kept playing at a high level, and kept putting lots of pressure on Johanna. I personally felt today that she was thinking about the match against Konta for a few days and she was ready for it today.”
Former British No.1 Jo Durie, whose records Konta is busy chasing down, believes Williams played so well mainly because she knew how good the Briton is.
“What respect she showed for Jo,” she said. “It was closer than the scoreline suggested. She is a definite contender and the more matches she has like this – the more experience she gets – she is coping so much better with being on these courts and having the attention.
“She was 3-1 up, break-point at 3-3, so there was a chance when Serena had taken her apart in the first set. I doubt Serena has played so well in a first set and been so focused in a long time.
“She was ready for her, she knew what a threat she was. I thought it was good. I was very impressed with Jo. There are no ups and downs, and she is slightly getting better and better.
“I’m thinking pretty soon she is going to be top five and on hard courts I would give her a shot at winning a Slam.”
Konta revealed she had been in tears just before coming to her press conference, not surprising after the tension of the battle, both in Sydney and then in Melbourne.
“I cried because I'm generally quite an emotional person,” she said. “I think I've never hid that away. I've worked incredibly hard to direct that emotion into a positive way and into a constructive way on court. But off court I'm still very emotional.”
She will now head home for a few days’ rest before joining up for Fed Cup duty with the rest of the Great Britain team as they take on Portugal, Latvia and Turkey.
And what of Williams saying she is a future champion? "That's nice,” she said, laughing. “I will do my best. I will try.”
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