Konta advances to last 16 of Australian Open with comfortable victory against Allertova

Konta, who has not dropped a set in the tournament so far thanks to victories against Venus Williams and Zheng Saisai, won 6-2 6-2 at Melbourne Park to match her run to the last 16 at last year’s US Open.

Konta, 24, will now face Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova in round four.

Konta lost to Allertova at last year’s French Open but last night, at Melbourne Park, she dominated from the start. Her first serve was firing at 72 per cent and she forced 12 break points and faced none.

Allertova is ranked 19 places lower at 66 in the world. Konta broke her serve at the first opportunity and never wavered throughout the first set and sealed it with a ace 29 minutes later.

The Eastbourne player continued to dominate, particularly on serve, and wrapped up a one-side affair just after an hour of tennis on the on Hisense Arena and became the first British woman to make the fourth round of the Australian Open since Jo Durie and Anne Hobbs in 1987.

Konta said, “It was not easy out there. She’s an incredibly tough opponent and I knew I had to run down each ball and fight for every point. It definitely wasn’t easy.

“I’m feeling pretty good - it’s amazing what adrenaline does. It just feels like I’m competing to the best of my ability and that’s all I can ask for.”

After the match Allertova, 22, complained of a leg injury, but said, “She (Konta) played well on every point, she has got much better since we met at the French Open. She is going up and up and is such a good player.”