Konta upbeat despite defeat to ‘consistent’ Kerber

Who’s the favourite to win?

“I think so”, Kerber said. “Surely. I think in these situations I think people become skeptical when it’s sort of kept in-house. It’s tough for somebody to put it in their own home, but (the work) speaks wonders”.

ATP Executive Chairman and President Chris Kermode speaks during a press conference at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. “No. It’s going to be forgotten tomorrow”, she said.

Konta had been hoping to extend Britain’s excellent showing in Melbourne, with Andy Murray playing Milos Raonic on Friday in the semi-finals of the singles and Jamie Murray making it through to the doubles final alongside Brazilian Bruno Soares.

Sensing victory, she made no mistakes to serve for the match and become the first left-hander to make the final since Seles in 1996.

The first Grand Slam of the season has been overshadowed from the start by media reports alleging that tennis authorities had failed to thoroughly investigate evidence of match-fixing.

“It has been hard on the Australian Open, no question about it”, Kermode said. No players were identified and no specifics were published. “You can’t underestimate Kerber”, Williams said.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity – for both of them if you think about”.

The dominant top seed was untouchable in overpowering the Pole 6-0, 6-4 in just 64 minutes on Rod Laver Arena to set up a decider against German seventh seed Angelique Kerber or unseeded Briton Johanna Konta. “She had some great wins here, beat a lot of seeded players”, Murray said.

“It’s exciting to have a British woman into the later stages of a slam”. “She’s top 10. She’s an incredibly decorated and successful competitor and player”.

The second set was closer, with Radwanska holding serve three times and breaking Serena’s powerful serve once.

Konta was playing in the main draw at the Australian Open for the first time, after losing in qualifying rounds for the previous three years. Six of his 18 grand slam semi-final appearances have come in Australia.

Kerber went down a break in the second set before winning five consecutive games and saving five set points before beating Azarenka, the result coming as a surprise despite the difference in seedings.

Williams finished with eight aces – all in the second set – and has lost only 26 games in six rounds in a dominating run that included a 6-4, 6-1 win over No. 5 Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, a rematch of the 2015 final.

That encounter is taking place before Kerber vs Konta, which means the Brit will know who her final opponent could be when she steps on court for her match. “At the end, when I had match point, I had it a little bit more in my mind, but it’s just an wonderful feeling to be here in the semifinals for the first time”.

British No. 1 Konta has been doing well recently, as has Chinese challenger Shuai Zhang, who scalped Simona Halep earlier in the tournament.

Serena Williams hits a return against Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska during their women’s singles semi-final.