Johanna Konta put on an impressive performance at the Australian Open. The top ten player recorded 31 winners on the day to stun Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-1 on Margaret Court Arena on the grounds of Melbourne Park.
This was the first time the two top 20 ranked players face one another and it couldn’t have come at a perfect time. The reach of the third round is what can make or break a tournament for some. The Brit and the Dane both understand the importance of their match and the risk if things get out of hand. Both have managed to get through clean in their first pair of victories but one will surely find herself cut off from advancing on.
The Sydney native carries a heavy advantage over Wozniacki winning the tournament over a week ago. With fatigue becoming a factor in the match against an experienced opponent, Konta would require a strong outing on the big stage.
It was a difficult serve for Wozniacki who saw the fight from Konta who gained a lead for the break. She couldn’t hang on to it as the Dane kept the win in her favor after a break. Things started to ease up through the next pair as the players remained on service with Wozniacki controlling the lead. Konta racked up the winners quickly recording six while her opponent hadn’t turned one out.
Regardless of the inability to nail them down just yet, the former number one remained on serve in the set forcing Konta to play quick and make her slip up. Things remained at a stalemate through six but the seventh saw Konta going for a second chance at the break. Wozniacki ended it with a trick shot that changed the movement of the ball saving her for a moment. Konta regained break point making a big move by getting in front of the ball before striking a smash to take the lead.
The service in Konta’s hands led to a 40-0 hold as the Dane’s forehand unable to come through for her. She got on the board due to a double fault from the Brit but the recovery led to another unforced error giving the world number nine a 5-3 run. The former number one was on the edge wanting to outduel the Brit and stay alive in the set. Konta didn’t let her staying tight in the game before a winner on the volley return gave her set point. The Dane saw the end come on another error from the forehand ending the set in 42 minutes. Wozniacki had just 10 errors in the set but the second serve and points on the return took a toll in her demise.
Konta continued her march to wins as she dominated her opponent’s forehand problems on the returns. With that and the 20 winners she recorded in the second set, the 25-year-old Brit had everything going well for her. She reached 3-0 hanging on to two set points despite committing her second double fault in the match. The game came to an end on Wozniacki’s shot that fell long of the line giving Konta her seventh straight game.
A fifth straight break in the match saw the Brit in complete control of how she wanted things to go and they only got better. In the fifth game, Konta began notching Aces across to Wozniacki who watched them fly past her. It almost looked like a one-way race until the Dane showed fight. She managed to force deuce for the first time in ten games hoping to prevent the bagel. An ace came from the Brit but was challenged by Wozniacki as an assurance to herself. When hawk eye confirmed the shot was good, Konta secured game point a tenth winner in the set that gave her a 5-0 rout.
She made it look too easy in the sixth blowing back perfect returns across the net. It soon turned around as Wozniacki found life in her game to reach game point. With all her might to control the rally, it paid off just briefly to hold for the first time in the set. The ninth seed got the ball back with the intent of ending it fast. She saw more adversity from the world number twenty but reached match point. She got a little anxious double faulting for a third time to win it on deuce. A six-shot rally went wide from Wozniacki giving Konta a second match point. She got it on another wide shot from the Dane that ending the match in 75 minutes.
“I definitely played a very high level today so I was very happy to have come through that one,” she said during her on court interview. “Caroline really makes you work for it and against her you have to win it cause she doesn’t give it to you so I’m very happy with my level.”
She’ll hope to have a similar level when she’ll go into the fourth-round facing Ekaterina Makarova once again. “We had an incredibly close one last year,” she said. “I think it was 8-6 in the third so I’m ready for a battle and it will be nothing short of that. We’ve played a number of times and each time was tough like every single girl you play in this event or any event; you don’t get easy matches anymore.”
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