<
>

Johanna Konta beats Caroline Wozniacki at Australian Open

Johanna Konta in action against Caroline Wozniacki at the Australian Open William West/AFP/Getty Images

Johanna Konta's Australian Open charge shows no sign of slowing after the British No. 1 swept aside Caroline Wozniacki to make the last 16.

Konta is ranked only 11 spots higher than world No. 20 Wozniacki, but she exposed a considerable gulf in class on Margaret Court Arena to win 6-3, 6-1 in 75 minutes on Saturday.

Konta is yet to drop a set in the tournament and continues to show why many are picking her as a genuine contender for the title.

She now faces Russian world No. 34 Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round, with the winner likely to earn a quarterfinal showdown with Serena Williams.

On paper, this appeared a tricky third round for Konta given that Wozniacki, a former world No. 1, has staged something of a resurgence in recent months, having reached the semifinals of the US Open in September.

An awesome display of power hitting, however, simply proved too strong for the Dane, as Konta cracked 31 winners and won nine games in a row across the first and second sets.

Said Konta: "I definitely played a very high level today. I'm very happy to come through that.

"Caroline makes you work for it. You have to win it; she doesn't give it you.

"I knew it was going to be a tough one. I wanted to, from the get-go, assert myself and make sure I started and finished the match the way I wanted to play."

Born in Sydney, Konta is facing growing determination from Australian fans to claim her as one of their own.

Asked about the local crowd's strong support, Konta said: "That's an awkward conversation."

The opening exchanges were a matter of attack against defence as Konta leathered the ball from side to side while Wozniacki darted about the baseline, desperate for her opponent to miss.

At 3-3, the winner count stood at 13-1 in the Briton's favour.

From then on, it was a procession of Konta stroke-play as one brilliantly angled backhand and then a driving forehand volley snatched the break for a 4-3 lead.

Konta sealed the opening set before storming into a 5-0 advantage in the second.

When a deflated Wozniacki finally registered, the crowd gave her a sympathetic cheer. But Konta showed no mercy, serving out the next game to complete an impressive victory.