Konta ends 29-year Aussie drought for British women

Epa05117784 Serena Williams of the USA plays a shot against Daria Kasatkina of Russian Federation during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 22 January 2016.

Williams is spending her 153rd and 154th consecutive weeks at No. 1 during the two weeks of the Australian Open.

Konta is the first British woman to reach the last 16 in Melbourne since 1987 after she thrashed Czech Denisa Allertova 6-2 6-2 on Saturday.

She had a tight first-round victory over Camila Giorgi, a much easier victory over Su-Wei Hsieh and continued her run with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over teenager Daria Kasatkina in Friday’s third round in Rod Laver Arena.

She says, “I don’t do bananas anymore”.

“Konta has done so well since I last played her and has raced up the rankings, so now she is above me”.

Playing on centre court against the top seed at a Grand Slam was a huge occasion for the 18-year-old, who was not only making her debut at the tournament but is on her first ever trip to Australia.

She will go on to face Russia’s 21st seed Ekaterina Makarova, who beat Czech ninth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-2. “I’ve been trying to keep the same team of people around me and follow the kind of a lifestyle that I think works for me that got me to where I am. She mixes up the ball well”, Williams said recalling her victory over the Russian at Wimbledon previous year.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Serena Williams’ latest on-court fashion statement is an attempt to “push the envelope” with a nod to classic tennis style. If her potent serve and consistent ground strokes are the cornerstones of Konta’s game, the foundations are built on her new-found mental strength. “I thought I played pretty well in the other matches, though – my first match I thought I gave a great effort, and my second match, under the circumstances, I thought I played pretty well, I thought”.

“I’m just very grateful for all the people that do come out”.

“I always think of classic, so I wanted a pleated skirt because a pleated skirt is very classic”.

The 10-time Grand Slam champion survived two set points in a final set tiebreaker before completing a 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) win and his 12th straight over Seppi, and will now play Frenchman Gilles Simon.

Since reaching last year’s Wimbledon final, the Spanish player has lost in the second round of the U.S. Open and now the third round at Melbourne Park. Three years earlier, when she was six, Sharapova was spotted at a Moscow exhibition by Martina Navratilova, who told her father that America was the best place to cultivate the young the young player’s talent.