Australian Open 2016 - Main Draw - Melbourne, Australia - Hard

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

RE: Australian Open 2016 - Main Draw - Melbourne, Australia - Hard

Peter too · Tennis legend

QF: KONTA, Johanna (GBR) 47 def ZHANG, Shuai (CHN) 133 6-4 6-1

SF: KONTA, Johanna (GBR) 47 v KERBER, Angelique (GER) 6 7 CH=5 2012

LordBrownof · Futures level

Just amazing. What a girl!

Peter too · Tennis legend

From what I saw of Kerber's match against Azarenka she plays a similar game to Jo but if anything angles the ball even more, so its going to be tough. Both players will have to do a lot of running to stay in the rallies.

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

Jo will now be up to WR28.
She will have 1869 points, which, interestingly, is 184 more than Laura had when she reached WR27 for that one week in 2013. The rankings have change slightly, but that's a big margin.

And, there's probably 50 or so other stats to update of some sort, but it will have to wait for things to settle from the euphoria, and at least until after Andy joins Jo in the semis.
Jo really making Andy work hard to maintain his long run as always last Brit standing at a GS.

Magnificent Johanna, just magnificent

goldfish · Futures qualifying

An amazingly calm and composed performance. So pleased there was no nervy service game to end the match although it was a bit of a rough way to win from Zhang's point of view. Brilliant Jo - makes the whole event so much more fun for us all back in the UK.

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

Jo's incredible run continues biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin

Amazing even at the start of this tournament that she is into the Semi Final let alone the odds she would do this a year ago. Winning 6-4 6-1 over the world 133 sounds simple enough but she needed to use all of her now customary composure to make it that way.

Great serving to close out the first set which was always going to be crucial as I'm not sure either player had enough left after their respective great runs to mount a comeback.

Kerber played great today, but Jo certainly has a chance against her (more so than against Azarenka) as she will have to deal with the weight of expectation of being expected to make a first final.

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Wonderful stuff :D :D :D :D :D

Looks like Jo came up with the goods at the sharp end of the first set; thanks for the commentary you guys :)

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

The bad news:
ETA for Johanna's SF tomorrow ~04:30 UK.
After Serena/Aga, which is not before 02:30 UK.

So, either a very late night, or a very early one.

AliBlahBlah · All-time great

Amazing!
What can one say? This is a transformation like I can scarcely recall.
It's fantastic.
Jo's fantastic, not just the winning, but the way she's handling herself and all the hullabaloo that accompanies her success. So calm polite, and funny! Even the more jaded American commentators who tend to sneer a little at British Tennis for being a bunch of stuffed shirts have taken to how honest thoughtful and eloquent she is.

I think reaction is a bit stunned here, it's taking some time to sink in.
Saying it out loud almost seems funny: "Great Britain has a Grand Slam Singles semi-finalist in the ladies singles! No, really!"
It's taking some acclimatising, but I'm loving every second.
This time tomorrow we could have a finalist!
So excited and happy for Johanna.
Spam all the emoticons, because I really don't have words!

Jan · Hall of fame

Just brilliant!
So pleased for Johanna and for British Tennis!

biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin

Thanks for the commentaries too.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

As Jan says, many thanks for the commentaries - read every word !

And another 'wow' and 'just amazing' for Joko

And, again, a big nod to her new Spanish team, both the mental and the technical guy, because when you look back at old streams from 18/24 months ago, it's amazing.

So pleased for her !

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Interesting: Jo's forehand as big as Serena's it says :)
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/australianopen/12124253/Johanna-Konta-has-made-history-at-the-Australian-Open-but-she-is-far-from-an-overnight-success.html

Sim · County player

Has to be one of the largest improvements ever - lost Q1 last year now in semi-finals with a real chance of making the final (certainly compared to playing either of the other 2 semi-finalists).

Lets hope she continues to live the dream. smile

paulisi · Tennis legend

Although Jo will be big underdog with the bookies, I think this will be a 50/50 match.

Jo has improved dramatically in the last 12 months, both mentally and in her game. Her power and movement and now top draw. If she has a high first serve percentage, I think she will win.

Another win would put her up to 23rd(net 22) in the rankings with virtually nothing to defend until the summer. A good run at Indian Wells and Paris where she would be seeded would almost certainly put her inside the top 20 and with Halep, Keys and Safarova with injury issues who knows how high she can climb.