She's been the talk of the tennis world, but Johanna Konta's run in Melbourne has come to an end in the semi-finals at the hands of Angelique Kerber. The German was a 7-5 6-2 victor, and moves into her first Grand Slam final.

Konta and Kerber weren't the names anyone expected to see reaching the last four from the bottom half of the draw, but no one could say that they hadn't earned the right to be there, with both players achieving big wins en route.

Both players impress with big wins

Konta was the conquerer of Venus Williams in round one, and was rewarded with a mostly kind path to the semifinals - Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round proving her only real test. The consistency needed to reach such a late stage in a Grand Slam tournament, and the level of play required to beat both Venus and Makarova, are both things we've not seen from the British number one before though, and bode well for Konta's future.

After a bad start, which saw her need to save a match point in the second set tiebreak of her first round match, Kerber has been impressive. Her first victory over many people's pick for the title, Victoria Azarenka, was a big one for Kerber, and she backed it up well with a solid win against Konta.

Kerber had already proven to be too much for former champion Victoria Azarenka. | Photo: Sigma Live

Big-match experience helps Kerber

The world number six was the more experienced of the two, and it showed early on as she got out to a 3-0 lead, helped by a nervy start from Konta. The Brit hadn't reached the semi-finals without having to fight her way through matches though, and she broke Kerber twice, winning four games in a row to get back on serve at 4-3. Kerber did eventually prove too strong for Konta, as she took the first set 7-5.

The second set was less close than the first as the errors began to mount up for Konta. Kerber was able to win 50 per cent of points on Konta's serve, and with her own error count at only five for the set, she was able to take it 6-2 in just 33 minutes.

Kerber relishing facing Serena

Kerber advances to her first major final, the first German to do so in Melbourne since Anke Huber in 1996. She'll face the toughest test on the WTA - a match against Serena Williams for the title. Serena is unbeaten in her six Australian Open finals, but Kerber is relishing the match.

"I'm really looking forward to taking this challenge," she said, adding that she has "nothing to lose."

Despite her disappointment at seeing her run end, Konta will be delighted with her tennis in the last fortnight. With her semi-final appearance, she showed that her fourth round result at last year's US Open was no flash in the pan as she continues to climb the rankings.

This time last year, Konta was outside the top 100, but now she is in the top 50 as the British number one. This fortnight's run will take her to a new career high of 28th in the world rankings.

Konta has had much to celebrate in the last two weeks. | Photo: Telegraph

Konta was in optimistic mood afterwards, saying that she'd "played against a better player" who had "earned the right" to play in the final. She told reporters that she didn't feel like the loss was a missed opportunity, and was already looking to the future: "I'm really hungry to keep improving," Konta explained.

One thing's for certain: the eyes of the tennis world will now be upon her as she attempts to continue her remarkable rise.

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