Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Konta to take on Williams
BRITAIN’S Johanna Konta earned an Australian Open showdown with Serena Williams by easing past Russian Ekaterina Makarova to reach the quarter-finals.
Konta needed three sets to overcome Makarova here last year but this was far more straight-forward as the British No 1 sailed through 6-1 6-4 i n 69 minutes.
She will now face Williams, t he 22-time grand slam champion, for a place in the last four.
Andy Murray, meanwhile, will endure some sleepless nights after spurning the chance to win his first Australian Open title, according to Novak Djokovic’s former coach Boris Becker.
Murray was the clear favourite following Djokovic’s early exit but the Scot tumbled out in the fourth round yesterday to world No 50 Mischa Zverev.
He may never get a better chance to end his Melbourne drought, with Djokovic struggling for form and the emerging generation yet to fully blossom.
And it leaves the men’s draw hard to predict with Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all well-placed to capitalise.
“It’s a tough l oss for Andy,” said Becker, a twotime Australian Open champion.
“After an amazing finish to last year, he was the clear-cut favourite when the tournament started.
“That’s a tough pill to swallow but Andy i s a toughie, he will find a way to recover, but he’s going to have a sleepless night or two. After the Djokovic loss everyone thought ‘it’s his year now’.”