Serena Williams has praised the talent of Johanna Konta after she defeated the Brit in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
The world No.2 powered her way past Konta with the help of ten aces and 25 winners as she clinched the match 6-2, 6-3, in just 75-minutes. Williams will now play in the last four at Melbourne for the eighth time in her career. Even through her latest win was relatively straightforward, the 35-year-old is refusing to underestimate her British rival.
“It was an interesting match. She’s obviously a really good player. It went pretty well for me today.” She said about her win.
This season Konta has already impressed many on the tour by beating Eugenie Bouchard and Agnieszka Radwanska on route to the Sydney International title. Then at the Australian Open, she surged into the quarter-finals without dropping a set, recording wins over Caroline Wozniacki and Ekaterina Makarova.
“She always does really well here (in Melbourne). She tends to do really good in Australia. With her game, I definitely see her as a future champion.” Williams said of Konta.
Their Australian clash was the first time Williams had played Konta on the tour. The disparity between both players’ careers is significant. Williams has won 71 WTA titles compared to her opponents two. Furthermore, the 35-year-old has earned over $80M in prize money, 20 times more than Konta’s tally (3.38M). Despite the wide gap in achievements between both players, Williams is impressed by her rivals game.
“All around, I feel like she’s a great all-around player. So I feel like I had to be on it all around today.”
In the last four at Melbourne, the second seed will take a trip down memory lane. She will play Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in what will be their first clash since the 1998 Wimbledon Championships, where the American dropped just three games throughout that match.
“I remember It was on Centre Court. That’s all I remember. I remember winning. I was so excited because I was so young. She obviously was super young, too.” She recounted.
18-and-a-half years later, the 22-time grand slam champion said she is expecting to play against a completely different opponent than she did at Wimbledon. Since 1998, Lucic-Baroni has been blighted by personal issues as Williams surged to the top of the women’s game. The two have very different stories, but both are inspirational.
“We have totally different games now, the both of us. We both have gone through a lot. We both have survived, and here we are, which I think is a really remarkable story.” Williams said of her and Lucic-Baroni.
This week the 35-year-old is seeking to become the second woman in history to win a 23rd grand slam singles title after Margaret Court. A title trophy world also allow Williams to reclaim the world No.1 spot in the WTA rankings.
Williams will play Lucic-Baroni on Thursday.
