3.12am! THAT’S WHEN KONTA FINALLY CONKED OUT
ABSURD and dramatic. Jo Konta’s Australian Open hopes came to an end at 3.12am after an agonising defeat that threatened to run towards breakfast time.
Delayed in part because an alternative court was covered in seagull droppings, Konta’s early hours shift came to nothing when she was beaten 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 by former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza.
It had been the latest starting match in tournament history, getting under way at 12.30am, but the quality on show from both players belied the ridiculous hour at which they were asked to play.
A little bit of Australian Open folklore will not be much consolation to Konta. More comforting will be the fact that this was her best performance since Wimbledon 2017.
She declined to complain about the surreal scheduling at an event that is tennis’s answer to the Le Mans 24-hour race, but this was no time to send out two athletes to perform.
That they reached such a high level was a tribute to their professionalism.
‘It wasn’t ideal for anyone,’ said Konta. ‘I don’t think it’s ideal for anyone to do any physical activity when it’s bedtime. I don’t think it is healthy – in fact it is quite dangerous. But both of us were in the same boat.’
The ludicrous timing was caused by a series of matches in Margaret Court Arena going the distance, and at one point the outside Court No3 was being prepared as an alternative venue. The organisers could have acted sooner.
‘Once (the preceding) Zverev and Chardy match went to a fifth set, we were actually going to go out to Court 3 to start, but there was basically seagull poo everywhere,’ Konta explained.
‘They had to clean the court and by the time they would have cleaned the court, it would have taken 10-15 minutes and we were in the same boat anyway.
‘Ideally, both of us would have wanted to play earlier – this is no one’s ideal schedule to play in the wee hours of the morning — but we don’t make the schedule and we both dealt with the same challenge.
‘I think it was a high level in general, both of us played really well. I think she started better than I did, but then I think I did a good job of raising my level to make it a competitive match.
‘It’s more important to focus on the level of the match and it was unfortunate that more people couldn’t enjoy it during the day.’
While it was the latest starting contest, it was not the one that finished deepest into the early hours. That accolade still belongs to Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis, who in 2008 got off court at 4.33am.
Serena Williams eased to victory over Eugenie Bouchard to reach the third round while Simona Halep survived another scare to join her.
Williams is the 16th seed but very much the title favourite, and this performance only reinforced that status as she eased to a 6-2 6-2 victory.
There were perhaps a few more errors than Williams would have liked but also 20 winners and some devastating play, particularly in taking apart the Bouchard serve.
Standing next in the 23-time grand slam champion’s way is 18year-old Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, who upset 23rd seed Carla Suarez Navarro to reach the third round of a slam for the first time.
Having survived a first-round test against her US Open conqueror Kaia Kanepi, Halep looked to be finding things more comfortable against young American Sofia Kenin as she moved a set and 3-0 ahead.
But 20-year-old Kenin, who won her maiden WTA Tour title in Hobart last weekend, fought back to take the second set and led 4-2 in the third only for Halep to win the final four games and the match 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-4.
It does not get any easier for Halep, who is nursing a leg muscle problem and next faces Venus Williams. The American also came through a three-setter, defeating France’s Alize Cornet 6-3 4-6 6-0.
For all the talk of the unpredictability of the women’s game, the story of the tournament so far has been the top players dominating, and it was the same on Thursday.