Johanna Konta is refusing to be overawed as she booked a quarter-final clash with Serena Williams at the Australian Open.
The British number one, who won the WTA Tour event in Sydney earlier this month, has now won nine straight matches and 18 straight sets and brushed aside Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 6-4.
The number nine seed reached the semi-finals in Melbourne last year but acknowledges it’ll be a tough ask against 22-time Grand Slam champion Williams, who beat Czech 16th seed Barbora Strycova 7-5, 6-4.
The pair have never meet but before the tournament, Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, highlighted Konta as the key threat to his charge in her half of the draw.
Now she gets the showdown he predicted - and Konta can’t wait.
“She’s a player that I watched growing up, as a young girl wanting to be a professional tennis player, Serena was an amazing example,” she said.
“I’m going to enjoy it and cherish every minute but once on court I’m there to compete. You’ve got to believe that you will come off as the winner.
“It’ll be an incredible experience, an honour really, and I can’t wait to be out on court with her.”
Konta, 25, bullied Makarova off the court, her dominance underlined by impressive service statistics and a first set that she rattled off in just 24 minutes.
The Russian - who has now lost three matches to her British rival - fought back to build up a 4-1 lead in the second set before Konta took five games on the spin, even fighting back from 0-40 down in the final game with a flurry of aces.
“I was playing a higher level than her in the first set but she really played well at the start of that second set,” added Konta. “I wasn’t doing much wrong, she was just playing really well.”
Williams is a six-time winner at Melbourne Park but there are chinks in her armour, Strycova broke her serve three times in the first set but couldn’t capitalise.
"It was a really good match for me and I'm glad I came through it,” said Williams. "It's good to know I have an plan B. I wasn't serving my greatest but she was also putting a lot of returns in there."
Sportsbeat 2017