Serena Williams' coach tips Johanna Konta as future Grand Slam winner

Exclusive: Speaking to the Independent, Patrick Mouratoglou, coach to world No 2 Serena Williams, has his say on Britain's rising female star

Johanna Konta has a bright future ahead of her, Patrick Mouratoglou believes (Getty)

Patrick Mouratoglou, the hugely successful coach of Serena Williams, expects the 22-times Grand Slam champion to beat Johanna Konta here on Wednesday in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open but predicts the brightest of futures for her opponent.

“Can Johanna win Grand Slams in future? Of course she can,” Mouratoglou said. “I’ve seen her a lot lately and I’ve been very impressed.”

Konta and Williams set up the first meeting of their careers with contrasting fourth-round victories. Konta, who had needed more than three hours to overcome Ekaterina Makarova at the same stage last year, this time took just 75 minutes to crush the 29-year-old Russian 6-1, 6-4.

Williams, like Konta, has not dropped a set in her first four matches but laboured to a 7-5, 6-4 victory over the Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova in an hour and 46 minutes. The world No 2, who needs to win the title here to reclaim the top spot from Angelique Kerber, dropped her serve four times and made 46 unforced errors.

Before the tournament Mouratoglou had singled out Konta and Karolina Pliskova as the two greatest threats to Williams. Pliskova, the world No 5 and last year’s US Open runner-up, ended Australia’s interest in the singles events here when she beat Daria Gavrilova to set up a quarter-final meeting with Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

The quarter-finals in the other half of the draw see Garbine Muguruza, the French Open champion, take on Coco Vandeweghe while Venus Williams meets Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

“I’ve seen a lot of Johanna,” Mouratoglou said. “It’s helped that she has been on TV so much. When you win a tournament, like she did in Sydney, people see you a lot.

“I’m impressed by her tennis and I’m particularly impressed by the way she plays without any doubt in her mind. She commits 100 per cent to every shot, there’s no doubt about it.”

Konta remains the last remaining Briton in the singles tournament in Melbourne (Getty)

Mouratoglou has been struck by the rapid progress 25-year-old Konta has made in the last two years. The current world No 9 used to handle high-pressure situations badly and often lost tight matches, but today she is a picture of mental strength.

“The difference between how she was two or three years ago and now is like day and night,” Mouratoglou said, adding that he was not surprised she had made her breakthrough later than most. “Every player has their own way,” he said.

Mouratoglou thinks that Andy Murray’s success has helped Konta in her own career. “It’s always the same,” he said. “If a country has one successful player then others follow. Look at how well Dan Evans is doing now. It’s the same for him.

“When someone shows the way there are always others that follow their path. In one way or another I’m sure it has helped Johanna.”

Mouratoglou thinks that Murray’s success has also kept much of the pressure off her. “The eyes are much more on him than on her, though that has obviously changed at this tournament now that he’s out,” he said.

Williams has advanced to the quarters in Melbourne without dropping a set (Getty Images)

Williams has won nine of the 18 Grand Slam tournaments she has played since Mouratoglou started working with her in the wake of one of the most shocking defeats of her career, to Virginie Razzano in the first round of the French Open in 2012.

Unlike some coaches, he gives a ruthlessly honest verdict on her performances. “It wasn’t a good match,” the Frenchman said of her victory today over Strycova. “It was a bad day for her. She wasn’t moving well. She was slow. She didn’t serve well.

“But I’m happy that she found a way to win. That’s the most important thing. She can only get better. Sometimes over the two weeks of a Grand Slam you have one day like that.”

Williams took a four-month break from competitive tennis after last year’s US Open. She returned in the first week of the new season, only to lose her second match at the Auckland tournament to Madison Brengle, then the world No 72.

Konta is in the form of her life and thriving under pressure (Getty)

The draw here was not kind to Williams, but the American came through two tricky opening matches against Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova. “She played well in both matches, especially in the second round against Safarova,” Mouratoglou said.

“It’s not easy when you come back after a break, but the fact that she had two difficult matches in the first two rounds was definitely a plus. Those matches weren’t easy and she had to stay focused the whole match to win both of them. That got the best out of Serena, so it helped a lot.

“She tends to get better match after match at a tournament. She gets used to competition again and she finds a way to win even when she’s not playing great like today.

“Physically she’s in very good shape. We did a very good off-season, so there’s no reason why she should have any physical problems here. I don’t think she’s tired or anything.”

How does Mouratoglou see the quarter-final working out? “Konta is playing fast, she’s serving well, she’s aggressive on every shot, taking the ball early, moving forward,” he said. “Unless you’re a counter-puncher, which is not the case with Serena, it’s just about imposing your game.

Konta faces her biggest challenge yet in Melbourne against the world No 2 (Getty)

“Both players are going to try to impose their game as much as possible. That’s exactly the same when Serena plays [Victoria] Azarenka or [Maria] Sharapova. She has to serve better, return better and dictate as often as she can. And Johanna will probably try to do the same.”

And his prediction for the match? “If I didn’t think Serena was going to win I should be heading back home,” Mouratoglou smiled. “If Serena is playing her best I don’t think anyone can beat her. But she has to play her best. If she plays like she played today she won’t win. She will need to raise her level.”