Sydney-born tennis sensation Johanna Konta says her heart is with Britain

Alerted to a story in an Italian newspaper suggesting his loss to now-retired French player Fabrice Santoro in Paris in 2007 was fixed, the 28-year-old denied it point blank.

Back on court, Djokovic was joined in the third round by women’s champion Serena Williams, 17-times grand slam champion Federer and Maria Sharapova who all made short work of their second-round opponents.

After the match, she was asked if she was chilly.

Easily outstripping her previous second round best at the tournament, Bencic also became the first Swiss woman to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Park since her mentor Martina Hingis and Patty Schnyder in 2007.

Konta has a powerful baseline game and in the past year has demonstrated a knack for beating top-ranked players.

Williams aims to win her seventh title of the Australian Open, after she won the championships of 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2015.

The 47th-ranked Konta is making her debut in the main draw at Melbourne Park but has shown few jitters and a fighting spirit as she moves through the draw.

The eight matches scheduled for Saturday in Melbourne are (3) Garbine Muguruza vs. Barbora Strycova, (14) Victoria Azarenka vs. Naomi Osaka, (15) Madison Keys vs. (20) Ana Ivanovic, (9) Karolina Pliskova vs. (21) Ekaterina Makarova, (7) Angie Kerber vs. Madison Brengle, Varvara Lepchenko vs. Shuai Zheng, Johanna Konta vs. Denisa Allertova, and Annika Beck vs. Laura Siegemund.

Of Gasparyan, Williams added: “She has a great forehand up the line”.

“I was definitely prepared for a tough match”, Konta said. “Yeah, that’s where my heart is”.

The injury was not meant as an excuse from Allertova, who was generous in praising her opponent. “I think I played well today”, Williams said.

Johanna Konta of Britain hits foreman return to Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic during their …

Konta is projected to break into the world’s top 40 after her Open run and will be knocking on the door of a seeding for the other three majors later in the year. She was one of four teens in the third round, which was the first time four teens have reached that far at the Aussie since 2009.

I’m more happy with just how I was able to handle the situation out there. “I don’t know if that’s a British contingent here, or if that’s from my Australian roots”.

“She has the mental side to complement her tennis now, she’s very consistent, she does believe so much more in herself and you can see it clearly on court”. “Is this friendly reminder that I’m getting old?” “Thank you for the yummy cake and memories @AustralianOpen 600 #AusOpen #600”.