Early results are in for Day 4 of the 2017 Australian Open. In one match in the singles draw, Johanna Konta advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Naomi Osaka. In the men's draw, British hopeful Kyle Edmund did not do so well. He fell to Pablo Carreno-Busta 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
Konta should have big aspirations
For Konta, the result keeps her hopes alive of doing well in Melbourne Park once again. The top British women's player made major headlines last season when she advanced all the way to the semifinals of the 2016 Australian Open.
At this point in her career, she still has all kinds of momentum. Not only is she into round three in Melbourne, but she has already claimed a WTA title at this early stage of the season.
At the time of this writing, Konta's next opponent is not known. However, it will either be Caroline Wozniacki or Donna Vekic. In their second-round match it's Wozniacki that took the first set and a break lead in the second set. Accordingly, that is who Konta will be expecting to play for a spot in the fourth round. Konta shares a draw to the quarters with Dominika Cibulkova as well, a player who was also up a set and a break in her second-round match on Thursday from Melbourne.
Edmund's poor follow-up to US Open
Where Konta has to be full of optimism at this point, Edmund has to be feeling as though he has lost some momentum. The 22-year-old made the US Open fourth round last summer in New York, a result that remains his best in a major so far in his young career. His second-round appearance at this year's Australian Open is also a career best at that particular venue, but his draw wasn't so difficult as to make a third-round appearance out of the question.
For that reason, he'll surely be disappointed with what was a fairly uneventful trip to the South Pacific region this season.
Other early Day 4 results from Melbourne Park saw Richard Gasquet defeat Carlos Berlocq and Philipp Kohlschreiber defeat Donald Young. On the women's side, Jelena Ostapenko, Ekaterina Makarova, and Caroline Garcia are also in the third round. American Serena Williams is expected to take to Rod Laver Arena later in the day when she faces Lucie Safarova.
