Leon Smith
Great Britain Davis Cup captain

"Konta has good composure now and that is helping her consistency. She doesn't rush her shots and that ensures she gets into good positions. She looked really confident hitting that overhead and that's a really good sign."

Konta being harried by Makarova's power, pinning the Briton on the baseline. The Russian earns a break point - but lets her opponent off the hook with a backhand which bounces a fraction long. 

The Briton's first serve isn't firing on all cylinders, which allows Makarova to pounce on the slower second. Second break point Makarova. Second break point saved - a punchy first serve from the Brit. 

Konta sneaks in an ace - her 12th of the tournament - first serve back on song - and it's a relatively breezy end to a game. 

Konta collects the opening two points with ease. The Briton solid at the back of the court, hitting with confidence. 

A low, driving forehand from Makarova pushes Konta wide, leaves her flat-footed and that's a first point for the Russian on the Briton's serve. 30-15. 

Konta's serve wobbling slightly, a double fault gifts Makarova the chance to level at 30-30. On the next point, the former Aussie Open semi-finalists is dragged from tramline to tramline until she nets, but to deuce we go. A backhand into the net from Konta. 

"Come on," says Konta as another wayward Makarova shot brings up a break point, but the Russian negates the danger with a backhand onto the line which kisses the tape on its way across court. A wave of the hand from the 21st seed to acknowledge her good fortune. 

Another break point comes Konta's way, a beautifully-constructed point finished by a snappy backhand volley from the Brit. 

Makarova hanging in though, and she wriggles free. Three break points saved. Gutsy. 

These players have only met on one previous occasion - in Eastbourne last year - and the winner was Jo Konta. It was a victory which some say ignited her surge up the rankings. 

The Briton nicks the opening point, then the Russian balloons a dreadful volley long to slip 0-30 behind.

A slapped forehand into the tape from Konta and the deficit is halved. Both routed on the baseline, both tentative. Nervous perhaps. 

Makarova not yet in the groove, chucking a break point Konta's way by screwing a forehand wide - but a driving volley on the follow-up point takes is to deuce. 

Former world number five Jo Durie has said Konta's increased self-belief is one of the reasons the Briton has risen in the rankings. 

The man who has made Konta tougher of mind is Juan Coto, who began working with the player in October 2014.  

"Tennis players know the importance of the mental side of the game. When you ask a tennis player what the importance is of the mental side they say 70% or higher," Coto told Press Association Sport. 

"You try to find a number of beliefs - I need to win, I don't want to make mistakes, what happens if I lose? - and you replace those with more positive thoughts."

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BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

Commentator David Law: "Konta looks at home at this level. She came out on the biggest stage and cleaned up against Venus Williams and then won two more matches relatively easily."

The players are warming up on a sparsely populated Margaret Court Arena and have been told they have two minutes until they must begin the battle. 

As has already been mentioned, Ekaterina Makarova is ranked higher than the Briton, but Konta won't be daunted by the task ahead.  

She has defeated five top-20 players since reaching the fourth round at last year's US Open and saw off Venus Williams in the first round in Melbourne, though admittedly the American is not the force of old. 

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Who is Johanna Konta? The 24-year-old is the Sydney-born British number one. 

The right-hander started last year ranked 146 in the world but after a remarkable 12 months she is set to burst into the top 40. Oh, and she's already made a bit of history this week by becoming the first British female to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open for 28 years. 

Her father's name? Gabor. Mother? Gabriella. Why do you need to know this? Trying to catch me out? 

Image source, .

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

There's good news for those who like to listen to the sound of a sweetly struck forehand (among other shots) because the folks at BBC Radio 5 live sports extra will be providing live coverage of this match. 

The 27-year-old Makarova will be no pushover. She was a semi-finalist in this tournament last year, losing to Maria Sharapova, and reached the quarter-finals in 2012 and 2013. 

The world number 24 has been in good form this year too, beating ninth seed Karolina Pliskova with ease - 6-3 6-2 - to reach the last 16. 

Image source, Getty Images

Hello! What sort of unwelcome hour is this for a tennis match? Inconsiderate, Australia. Inconsiderate. Anyway. 

Welcome to live coverage of Johanna Konta's last 16 rumble with Ekaterina Makarova. 

The Russian is ranked 23 places above the Briton, but Konta has been taking out seeds of late like a sharp-shooting sniper.

Image source, Getty Images

Let's rewind to 1984. Forget about smartphones and Facebook, forget about the world wide web. This is the era the average house price was £37,182, taping TV was legalised and Elton John was married - to a woman. 

British women weren't bad at tennis either, with Jo Durie reaching the last eight at Wimbledon. (See where I'm heading with this? Good.)

Yes, today we might be celebrating like it's 1984 if British number one Johanna Konta reaches the Australian Open quarter-finals. (You're disappointed you've read until the end, aren't you.)

Image source, Getty Images