| Britain’s Johanna Konta, who is yet to drop a set, comfortably saw off former world number one Caroline Wozniacki |
Britain’s Johanna Konta powered into the fourth round of the Australian Open for the second year in a row on Saturday, comfortably seeing off former world number one Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 6-1 on Margaret Court Arena.
Konta, who is yet to drop a set in the tournament, broke the Dane midway through the first set with a smoking drop shot and never looked back, keeping the pressure up throughout the 75-minute contest.
The ninth seeded 25-year-old, the female contingent in a British charge into the second week at Melbourne Park, joined male compatriots Andy Murray and Dan Evans in the fourth round when Wozniacki put a backhand wide.
The Sydney-born Konta, a semi-finalist here last year, will next face 30th seed Ekaterina Makarova as she seeks to give Britain its first women’s grand slam singles champion in four decades.
Makarova continued to show little regard for seeds at the tournament and sent another one heading for the exits on Saturday with a 6-2 6-7(3) 6-3 win over sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova in the third round.
The 28-year-old’s list of high-seeded victims at previous Australian Opens includes Ana Ivanovic (19th), Serena Williams (12th), Angelique Kerber (5th) and Simona Halep (3rd).
Serena Williams meanwhile gave compatriot Nicole Gibbs a lesson in grand slam tennis with a 6-1 6-3 thrashing to charge into the fourth round.
Having passed her earlier tests against more accomplished players, second seed Williams had far too many weapons for the 92nd-ranked Gibbs, who appeared overawed by the occasion at a sun-drenched Rod Laver Arena.
Williams suffered a brief lapse when serving for the match at 5-2 and was broken for the first time, but she promptly broke back to close out the one-sided contest in just over an hour.
The 35-year-old American, bidding for a record 23rd grand slam title in the professional era and a seventh at Melbourne Park, heads into the second week, and a clash against 16th seed Barbora Strycova, in fine touch.
“I feel like I have been able to do pretty good,” Williams told reporters, having had only two tour matches to warm up for the tournament after calling off her season after the U.S. Open last September to deal with a knee injury.
“I have been doing the things I have been doing in practice, and hopefully I can build up on this.
“That’s all I want to do.”