Australian Open 2016: Johanna Konta is first British woman to reach 4th round in 29 years with Denisa Allertova victory
Johanna Konta has become the first British woman to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open in 29 years with her victory over Denisa Allertova. Konta, 24, sealed a 6-2 6-2 win over her Czech opponent at Melbourne Park, her second consecutive fourth round victory after reaching the same stage of the US Open last September.
The Sydney-born Briton dominated her opponent, breaking at the first opportunity before sealing the opening set in just 29 minutes. Allertova, the world number 66, beat Konta at last year's French Open but was unable to keep up this time, falling to a straight-sets win in just over an hour, and failing to reach a single break point against Konta.
"I am pleased to be in the second week again but I don't compare it to the US Open, really," said Konta. "I'm very much just in the here and now. I'm more happy with just how I was able to handle the situation out there. It wasn't easy.
"I was definitely prepared for a tough match. [Allertova is] a very good competitor and she stays very calm and just really gets on with things.
"So I was very prepared to stay out there as long as I needed to. I was just very happy that I was able to take advantage of certain key points in the match and to keep my momentum going."
Konta is also the first British woman to reach the fourth round since Jo Durie and Anne Hobbs in 1987, more than four years before Konta was born.
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