Venus on the rise
Williams into Aussie Open semifinals
As Johanna Konta celebrated her latest victory at the Australian Open, the on-court interviewer revealed the identity of her next opponent. And as soon as he mentioned the name “Serena Williams”, the 7000-plus people in Margaret Court Arena drew a simultaneous breath, like a cinema audience responding to the first emergence of Jaws from the water.
Konta is rapidly building a name in her own right.
Today she will come up against the biggest fish of them all. Williams might have temporarily mislaid the No 1 ranking, but she surely remains the most intimidating woman in world sport.
“When the crowd made that noise, I was like, ‘What happened’?” laughed Konta. “But that is Serena’s aura, that is what Serena has earned from everything she has achieved in the sport. Because she has made herself such an icon, I think she has that effect on people.”
The quarter-final is stacking up as potentially the match of the tournament. With 22 major titles already in the bag, Williams looks comfortable, contented and ready for a 23rd.
Still, judging by the remorseless way that Konta ejected Russian Ekaterina Makarova from the tourna- ment, dropping only five games in the process, the British challenger is as ready as she will ever be for this ultimate test.
“All the experiences I’ve accumulated — especially in the last year-and-a-half — have prepared me the best that I could be to play someone like Serena,” said Konta.
“I have played quite a few Grand Slam champions and some former world No 1s. But Serena is the greatest player to be playing right now. I have never been on court with her so I am looking forward to competing, trusting in my system, and the good things I bring to the court.”
Whatever you make of Konta’s late emergence — which last year carried her into the top 10 at the relatively advanced age of 25 — everyone agrees that she works phenomenally hard. She always has done, even when she was slogging her way around $25,000 events, and the audience was just a couple of pensioners rather than the 15,000 fans who will squeeze into Rod Laver Arena today.
Once the ball started rolling, however, Konta managed to stay uncannily calm and grounded.
“Jo looks the part,” said Martina Navratilova, who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles. “She feels she belongs here, she’s not an imposter and she’s got the weapons to go with it. She’s improved her movement, shot selection, cleaned up the midcourt game. She will almost have to talk her way into it, because she’s never played Serena Williams before. But if she keeps that belief, that confidence can do wonders for you.”
The encounter with Makarova had the potential to be sticky. Konta faced the same opponent at the same stage
I am looking forward to competing, trusting in my system, and the good things I bring to the court.
of last year’s Australian Open, and came through 10-8 in the deciding set. “I would have cried at the end,” she said then, “but I’d sweated so much I didn’t have anything left in my body.”
This time around a duration of just 1hr 9min meant Konta was able to stay well hydrated. She set off at quite a lick, holding her opening service game in the blink of an eye, and then smashing Makarova’s first attempt at a serve back past her for a clean winner.
It is a tactic respected coach Dave Sammel recommends repeating today: hit a “statement return” early on, just to scramble your opponent’s brain.
Konta’s 6-1 6-4 victory extended her streak of straight-sets wins to nine, dating back to the start of the Sydney International. She has radiated brisk unconcern throughout, dismissing dangerous-looking opponents such as Caroline Wozniacki without hesitation. The fact that she seizes each match by the throat, rather than inching her way through the tournament, has convinced plenty of observers — including Williams’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou — that she is a potential winner here.
“This match is going to be difficult,” was the prediction of Mouratoglou. “I saw Jo play at the start of the year and she has been the player that has impressed me the most. She was impressive when she won Sydney. But it was also the way that she won it. She has no doubts at the moment. She moves super-fast. You can’t afford to be slow against someone who plays so fast and takes the ball early.” The respect works both ways. “I was thinking I would love the opportunity to be on court with Serena before she retired,” said Konta. “Not that she seems like someone who will be talking about retirement. I think she will be playing until the very last ball she can possibly physically hit. So hopefully this won’t be my last chance to play her before she retires.”
Johanna Konta
Venus Williams is firing in Oz.