It took only an hour and fifteen minutes for six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams to blow past British No. 1 Johanna Konta 6-2, 6-3.
Serena's joy says it all ! She was ready for the fight and put all her claws into it. Konta didn't. 6-2,6-3 Serena.
— Carole Bouchard 💜💛 (@carole_bouchard) January 25, 2017
At first glance, it looked like it was gong to be one of the best matches of the tournament, with both big hitters absolutely crushing the ball on every shot. Konta even earned herself an opportunity to get ahead early, having a break point when the first set was at 1-1, which she lost on a backhand error.
Williams then retaliated by going up 15-40 on Konta’s serve in the next game. Konta nullified the first break point by blasting an ace up the T, but Williams broke on the second when Konta netted a down-the-line backhand.
Williams later broke again after three deuces in the set’s last game, winning the set 6-2.
In the second set, Konta got into some early trouble, giving Williams three break points, though she was able to save all of them.
Konta went on to break Williams and then consolidate for a 3-1 lead.
But not long afterward, Williams broke Konta at love on a forehand pass, tying the set at 3-3.
Next game: Konta had a break point, but lost it by missing a forehand return long, which Williams followed up with two consecutive aces to go up 4-3.
Williams then broke Konta’s serve with a backhand winner and subsequently held at love for the solid 6-3 win.
“The main focus is actually my serve, even though I missed a lot today. I got a little frustrated, but then I just told myself , ‘Serena, stop complaining. Don’t be Babyrena out here,'” Williams said post-match.
On Thursday, Williams will face Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, whose last Grand Slam semifinal was Wimbledon 1999. The other women’s semifinal will be between Venus Williams, who is still fighting for her first Happy Slam singles title, and Coco Vandeweghe, who has been playing the tournament of her life for the past week and a half.
