Serena Williams had never played Jo Konta before their quarter-final. She had watched her, studied her, worked out a plan for her. She had seen enough to believe she looked good enough to win a grand slam one day. But she had never stood on the other side of the court and hit balls to her. "I didn't realise she was so tall, to be honest," she said. "I thought she was more my height."
Williams did not want to spend much time getting to know anything more about Konta, when they played on Wednesday. She was in a hurry, a big one. She was aggressive, from the very first point. She served 10 aces, and got frustrated when her serve wasn't as unhittable as she intended it to be. She bulldozed through the first set, giving Konta no time to settle into the match, let alone gather any momentum. Down an early break in the second set, she got it back just as soon as she needed it and didn't lose another game.
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Serena Williams steamrolls Jo Konta
Serena Williams made light work of Jo Konta to reach the Australian Open semi-finals, while in the men's draw Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov eliminated Belgian David Goffin in straights sets.
She did some things that pleased her: nailed her groundstrokes on both sides, moved Konta around the court, trusted her second serve to come through when she needed it – which was more often than she would have liked. But that her frustrations were almost entirely of her own making – "my first serve really wasn't great" – summed up the control she played with, and her dominance. "It was an interesting match," she said. "It went pretty well for me today."
Williams' 6-2, 6-3 win means she now has all of these things: a spot in her 10th straight semi-final at grand slam level. A possible ninth major final against her big sister Venus. A potential seventh Australian Open title within reach. A 23rd really big trophy to – maybe – reach for.
First, she must get past Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. Who she does know, but hasn't played since 1998, for a 6-3, 6-0 win she knows happened but can't recall too specifically. They were both just teenagers then, after all, doing things for the first time. "It was on centre court. That's all I remember," Williams said. "I remember winning. I was so excited because I was so young. She obviously was super young, too.
"That's all. Honestly, we have totally different games now, the both of us. We both have gone through a lot. We both have survived, and here we are, which I think is a really remarkable story."
Right now, she is doing much more than merely surviving. Konta knows all about it. She went into the match in excellent form. Her latest tournament win, in Sydney, was less than two weeks ago. But she went in really wanting to play well, which became a more difficult thing when her own hope and expectation were confronted with a) Serena's serve, b) Serena's power, c) Serena's ability to work angles and make the court feel so big, d) all of the above and e) all the other things she did.
It was a tough day. But one she almost enjoyed. "I think it was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I think there's so many things I can learn from that, so many things I can look to improve on, also acknowledge some things that I did well," Konta said.
![Total control: Serena Williams enjoyed a comfortable win over Johanna Konta.](/web/20170125121151im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/y/g/w/q/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtyg98.png/1485338004512.jpg)
"I definitely would have liked to have probably have a bit more say in the match than I did. But unfortunately that's also so much to do with Serena herself, the kind of tennis that she plays.
"I don't think there's one player on tour that goes up against her and feels like they've got much of a say in the matches. That's what she's very good at, the way she's able to dictate and the way she's able to really make sure that the matches and the points are on her terms."
![Serena Williams celebrates her win and the chance to shoot for another Australian Open title.](/web/20170125121151im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/y/g/w/w/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtyg98.png/1485338004512.jpg)