The World No.2's power game was too much for the 9th-seeded Brit.
Serena Williams (Photo: AFP)
Serena Williams demolished the dangerous Johanna Konta 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday to set up a semifinal with veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, bringing herself in sight of an seventh Australian Open title.
Serena had openly admitted that she was ‘playing with nothing to lose’ before the tournament, didn't give the British player any breathing space whatsoever. She broke Konta on her second service game itself and then accelerated to take home the opening set in 35 minutes.
Konta, who was yet to drop a set coming into the quarterfinals, was no match against a player who is on the verge of breaking the great Steffi Graf’s record of 22 Grand Slams, despite a brief fightback in the second set.
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The Brit broke the 35-year-old after saving three break points in her own service game to lead the second set 3-1 before Serena showed just why she is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, winning the next five games to take home the match in an hour and fifteen minutes.
Earlier in the day, comeback queen Baroni had scripted yet another astonishing victory, defeating 5th-seed Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in less than two hours to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal in 18 years.
Yes, you read that right. Baroni turned pro way back in 1997 and had reached the Wimbledon semifinal in 1999 when she was just 17. On a comeback trail after taking a break from competitive tennis for a couple of years.
She had already sent 3rd-seed Agnieszka Radawanska packing in the third round and against the in-form Pliskova she gave it her all, overcoming the stubborn Czech despite losing the first set.
The 34-year-old Baroni isn't the oldest semifinalist, as Serena’s older sister Venus has that honour.
While Venus faces the unseeded sensation CoCo Vandeweghe for a spot in the finals, Serena faces the unpredictable Czech, completing an unlikely semifinal line up.
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