The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Konta battles back to secure last eight place
Federer lays down marker with demolition job on No 15 seed Goffin
Johanna Konta pulled off one of the biggest wins of her career by beating third seed Karolina Pliskova to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open yesterday.
The British No 1 dropped the first set on a tie-break but battled back to win 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 7-5.
In doing so Konta became the first British woman to reach the last eight at Flushing Meadows since Jo Durie in 1983.
Konta had lost six of her previous seven matches with Pliskova, including twice on her home turf of Eastbourne, as well as in Nottingham and Birmingham.
None of those defeats will matter now with Konta continuing her fine season in the grand slams with a third successive appearance in a quarter-final.
It was a see-saw of a match, Konta holding two points for a double break in the first set, only to be pegged back and blown away in the tie-break.
Down a break in the second, a hold to love stopped the bleeding before three break points were engineered. Eight points in a row brought Konta level at 3-3 and another break had Pliskova suddenly feeling the heat.
At 5-3 two break points were saved, the first with a sensational forehand down the line, the second with a meaty volley, and when the Czech went long Konta levelled the match.
In a nip-and-tuck final set, Konta produced a gutsy hold to love for 5-5, and then broke to 15 to serve for the match.
One match point came and went, but when the second arrived and Pliskova’s return floated out, Konta raised her arms in celebration.
“The key was to just keep going,” she said. “You know with Karolina there will be massive portions of the match where I don’t really know what I’m doing. I’m pleased to have played a great match.
“I’ve been in this position twice before here, so to go one step further is a massive achievement for me. Now I’m hoping to go two or three steps further.”
World No 2 Ashleigh Barty meanwhile suffered a shock defeat in the fourth round.
The Australian, who won the French Open earlier this year, was beaten in straight sets by Wang Qiang, the 18th seed from China.
Below-par Barty was broken twice in the first set and saved two match points on serve in the second.
She had a chance to break back but the hugely impressive Wang, playing in the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time, held her nerve. A fourth match point saw the 27-year-old over the line and into the quarter-finals.
Wang will face 23-time grand slam winner Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. The American recovered from losing her opening service game to beat Petra Martic of Croatia 6-3 6-4.
Williams suffered an injury scare when she hurt her ankle and required a medical time-out.
Roger Federer meanwhile laid down a marker by dismantling David Goffin to reach the quarter-finals.
The third seed dropped just four games, winning the last nine on the trot, for a brutal 6-2 6-2 6-0 victory in just an hour and 21 minutes.
If Britain’s Dan Evans was feeling bad about the manner of his third-round defeat to Federer, he can surely take some comfort from the fact he won one more game than Goffin, the 15th seed.
Federer had looked susceptible in his opening two matches, dropping a set in both, but now he is cruising towards what looks likely to be another semi-final against Novak Djokovic.
Goffin, who actually broke Federer’s serve early in the first set, won just seven points in the third, the Swiss finishing him off with a stunning backhand pass down the line.
Federer will face Grigor Dimitrov, the former world No 3, in the last eight. The Bulgarian beat Alex De Minaur of Australia in straight sets, 7-5 6-3 6-4.