Don't miss any stories Follow Tennis View

Is Konta ready to beat Serena?

Jan 23rd 2017

After Johanna Konta dismantled Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-1 in just 75 minutes in round three, her new coach Wim Fissette told the UK’s Guardian newspaper he believes “there will be a day when she can win a Grand Slam”. And the Brit’s equally-impressive 6-1, 6-4 takedown of Ekaterina Makarova in the next round suggested she can do exactly that. The question is: can she do it at this year’s Australian Open?

Her most difficult challenge almost certainly awaits in the quarter-final as she must face one of the greatest players of all time: 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams. Like Konta, the American is yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament and she is looking in imperious form once again. It will be a tough ask for the Brit to beat her, particularly considering Serena will regain the world number one spot if she wins the title in Melbourne.

Johanna Konta

Konta believes she is ready for the challenge of taking on the world number two for the first time in her career. “I've played quite a few Grand Slam champions and former world number ones. So, I've prepared myself as much as possible for a competitor like Serena,” she said. “I was thinking I'd love the opportunity to be on court with her before she retires. But I doubt she's talking retirement. She will be playing until the very last ball she can physically hit. Hopefully, it won't be the last time I play her.”

No matter who she plays, there are typically very few long points during matches involving Serena. This puts increased pressure on the serve and return of her opponents. Konta possesses an excellent first and second serve and she will need to make sure these parts of her game are firing on all cylinders against the American if she is going to win.

Serena Williams

The Brit will also have to find a way to achieve one of tennis’ most difficult tasks: breaking Serena’s serve. There are a number of ways of doing this, but none of them are easy to execute. Last year in Melbourne, Angelique Kerber made frequent and excellent use of the return hit behind the American, which threw her off balance and gave the German the upper hand. Then at US Open 2016, Karolina Pliskova effectively went toe-to-toe with the world number two, drilling returns back at her or down the line as powerfully as she could. In that same tournament, Simona Halep almost beat Serena through sheer precision, as she hit a series of brilliantly accurate returns to earn points on the American’s serve.

Looking at these various approaches, Konta should be excited because she is capable of executing all three. It will be interesting to see what strategy she goes with during the match. Serena, for her part, is definitely aware of the threat posed by the Brit. “I have watched her game a lot,” she said. “She's been playing really well. She has a very attacking game. I know her game pretty well. I look forward to it.” The American might not relish the challenge so much if Konta starts dictating proceedings in their quarter-final.