Serena Williams vs. Johanna Konta: Score and Reaction from 2017 Australian Open

Serena Williams is two wins away from Grand Slam title No. 23.

The second-seeded women's player handled No. 9 Johanna Konta with relative ease in Tuesday's Australian Open quarterfinal match, 6-2, 6-3. Even when it appeared as if the British representative would challenge with a 3-1 lead in the second set, Williams won five straight games to put the match away in commanding fashion.

ESPN Tennis noted it was business as usual for the American on a major stage:

"

Serena storms into her 10th successive Major SF, dismissing No.9 Konta 6-2 6-3. She'll meet Lucic-Baroni in her 8th #AusOpen SF. pic.twitter.com/0F1eyjQDnt

— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 25, 2017"

Although she landed only 45 percent of them in, Williams won 88 percent of her first serves and notched 10 aces with an overpowering performance, per the Australian Open's website. It was the first-ever meeting between the two players, and Konta had little chance against those serves.

The 25-year-old also committed 22 unforced errors, per the Australian Open's website, and failed to take advantage of the few opportunities that presented themselves.

Williams' first pressing moment of the match came in the third game when Konta won three straight points to go from down 40-15 to advantage. However, the 35-year-old bounced back and remained on serve.

The American parlayed the momentum into a break on the next game. WTA Insider noted it was just the third time Konta was broken throughout the Australian Open.

They remained on serve for the next three games before Williams finished the first set with another break. The 22-time Grand Slam champion took full advantage of Konta's second serves in the first set, as the challenger won just 5-of-13 second-serve points in the set, per the Australian Open's website.

Despite Williams' 6-2 win in the first set, analyst Andrew Jerell Jones noted Konta played well to even get on the scoreboard:

She flashed those skills in the second game of the second set when she fell behind 40-0 but rallied with five straight points to remain on serve. That burst proved important at the time because Konta broke Williams in the next game to seize temporary control of the second set.

They remained on serve for the next two games, but Williams broke back with four straight points to tie the second set at three games apiece. Konta earned a break point in the ensuing game but failed to capitalize on it. The American closed the game with two straight aces to take a 4-3 lead.

Williams then broke again, and tennis writer Chris Goldsmith said Konta was definitely feeling the pressure of playing Williams.

Pressure or not, Williams is arguably the greatest ever, and she finished the match with four straight points in the final game.

Post-Match Reaction

Williams praised Konta during her on-court interview, per Chris Graham of The Telegraph: "Johanna Konta has been playing so well, I was in the locker room watching her clean up her matches, she is a future champion here for sure, so I am pleased to get through this."

She also reflected on some of her serving issues, per Justin Bergman of the Associated Press (h/t Chicago Sun-Times): "The main focus is actually my serve. I missed a lot today. I got a little frustrated."

What's Next?

Williams will face Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the semifinals after the latter upset fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova in Tuesday's quarterfinals, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. 

From a seeding standpoint, Williams' path to the title is relatively clear after Pliskova lost Tuesday and CoCo Vandeweghe upset No. 1 Angelique Kerber in the fourth round and No. 7 Garbine Muguruza in the quarterfinals. Williams' sister, Venus, will face Vandeweghe in the semifinals and could set up an all-sisters final.

However, Serena must get through Lucic-Baroni first. She holds a 2-0 advantage in their head-to-head meetings and will look to continue her perfection in the matchup to set up that potential Williams final.