Australian Open 2017: Johanna Konta beats Ekaterina Makarova, Serena Williams next
| Australian Open 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
Britain’s Johanna Konta produced another terrific performance to beat Russian Ekaterina Makarova and set up an Australian Open quarter-final against Serena Williams.
Konta, seeded ninth, saw off 30th seed Makarova 6-1 6-4 to reach the last eight without dropping a set.
The Briton made her first Grand Slam semi-final in Melbourne last year.
Second seed Williams overcame stern resistance from Czech 16th seed Barbora Strycova to win 7-5 6-4.
- Watch highlights of day eight on BBC Two from 16:45 GMT on Monday
The American six-time champion, 35, fell a break of serve down three times in the first set but came through .
“She’s a really smart player – she can do pretty much everything,” Williams said of Strycova.
“It was a really good match for me and I’m glad I came through it.”
Williams was under pressure on serve more than usual with a first-serve percentage of just 45%.
“It’s good to know I have an plan B or option two,” she added. “I wasn’t serving my greatest but she was also putting a lot of returns in there.”