Johanna Konta’s impressive run continues as she books fourth-round spot

“She’s here to play well and win”.

Bulgarian Dimitrov was dubbed “Baby Fed” for his similarity in style to the Swiss master but after briefly troubling the four-times Australian Open champion to win the second set, he looked more pale imitation than doppelganger.

Makarova feels at home in Melbourne, having reached the semi-finals here 12 months ago and the quarter-finals in both 2012 and 2013, but Konta beat her in Eastbourne past year and will fancy another upset.

Johanna Konta has matched her best ever performance at a grand slam as the British number one dispatched Denisa Allertova to reach the Australian Open last 16.

Despite the short stint on Laver, Kasatkina said it was a great experience, especially after Serena complimented her forehand at the net.

Sue Barker and John Lloyd at the 1977 Australian Open were the last British pair to reach the last eight in the same tournament.

Unlike Watson or Robson – who last week lost at a small tournament in Florida at the start of her latest comeback – Konta, older than them at 24, has been able to come through at her own pace.

By the end of the third set, the crowd was cheering vociferously for the Italian, either because they wanted a longer match or because they just liked him – I couldn’t really tell. “Hopefully with each match I can just keep doing better”. ‘And I wasn’t a bad junior – I was still 11th in the world. I’ve been wearing so many different designs. Everything I’ve been trying to work on was kind of clicking today.

– Arantxa, what side are you on?: If you spotted Arantxa Sanchez Vicario courtside during the second round match between Carla Suárez Navarro and Maria Sakkari, you probably thought she was there cheering on her compatriot. But when you watch her play you realize that her serve is shaky because it can be so good. The trade-off, again, worked for her – while her winner-to-error differential was just +2 for the day, the number of points she won by putting the ball just that little bit further away from Davis was substantial.

Durie believes that Konta is increasingly kitted out to challenge at the very top of the game.

– Dasha wears on her heart on her sleeve: “You don’t want to be in my head”, she said laughing, as reporters asked her about her thought process during matches.

“But I’m very happy, very pleased to be representing Great Britain”. Isn’t it about time?’ Gavrilova, who became a permanent resident in 2013 and received her Australian passport in December, is the only Australian woman left in the singles draw.

“Obviously the court plays differently when the roof is closed”.