Zhang Shuai of China hits a return during the women's singles third round match between Zhang Shuai of China and Johanna Konta of Great Britain at the 2019 US Open in New York, the United States, Aug. 30, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
NEW YORK, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- No. 16 seed Johanna Konta of Britain overcame China's Zhang Shuai to make the fourth round of the US Open women's singles on Friday.
Konta used an impressively consistent performance to claim the 6-2, 6-3 win over Zhang, smashing a stunning 34 winners to just 18 unforced errors throughout the match. Konta just needed 72 minutes to finish off the match.
While the 30-year-old Zhang looked lackluster and could never match with her opponent.
"There was nothing easy about that match. I had to stay calm, at any point it could have changed and that's what you have to be prepared for," Konta said.
Having hit 18 winners in the first set to just eight unforced errors, Konta displayed an impressive hitting form and she continued the momentum at the start of the second set.
Although she missed three chances to break in the fifth game, then another one in the seventh, she remained utterly reliable with the balls in hand, breaking Zhang again in the last game before securing the victory.
Konta will take on Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the round of 16. This will be Konta's third visit to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. She has never gone further and will aim to end that jinx against the big-hitting Czech.
