Joahanna Konta must break Karolina Pliskova’s grip at US Open
The British No 1 defeated Karolina Pliskova for only the second time in eight meetings to make the last eight.
Today she faces the fifth seed, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, a player to whom she has lost in each of their four encounters.
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Hide Ad“Elina is a tough player for me to play. I’ve had a lot of difficulty against her. I mean, she’s incredibly tenacious,” admitted Konta.
“She’s a tremendous competitor. I would be going out there anticipating it to be a tough match, anticipating for her to be there from the very beginning to the very end. I’m just really looking to compete well against her on the day.”
Konta became the first British woman to reach the quarters at Flushing Meadows since Jo Durie in 1983.
She is bidding to become the first to make the semi-finals in each of the four grand slams in the Open era.
“Yeah, I’m really pleased,” she added. “I think for me more on a personal level to be able to have made it to the quarters for my third slam in a row, I think that’s a really, really big achievement for me. So I’m really pleased with that.
“Obviously I’m looking forward to keep going further and further. You know how I am, I take one match at a time. I don’t really look forward too much more.”
Svitolina overcame Madison Keys in the fourth round, ending the American’s unbeaten record in night matches in New York. On her record against Konta, she said: “To be fair, they have all been very tough matches. She’s a very tough opponent. She strikes the ball very good, and I have to react very quickly with my feet.
“I know a bit what to expect. I have been practising a little bit with her. You know, I have to step on court and be focused on my game. That’s my goal for the next match.
“I think she’s a solid player. She plays always well in the grand slams. She’s a top player. She’s been in the top ten and been playing very good tennis.”