Konta beats Halep to become the 1st British woman to reach Wimbledon Open semi-finals since Wade in 1978

ajike July 11, 2017

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Johanna Konta produced a sensational comeback against Simona Halep to become the first female British player to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals since Virginia Wade in 1978.

Konta looked nervy in the opening set on Tuesday and saw it go the way of Halep in a tie-break, but the sixth seed came storming back to seal a 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win in front of a delighted Centre Court.

Halep – still without a major title to her name – would have become the new world number one had she claimed victory, but it was Konta that ended a 39-year wait for home representation in the last four of the women’s singles at SW19.

Konta overcame a nervy start to force a breaker in the opening set, yet there was little she could do as Halep turned on the style.

Flying the flag.@JoKonta91 beats Simona Halep 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 to continue her bid to become Britain’s first female champion since 1977 pic.twitter.com/HH9NMUScyT

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2017

The Romanian created superb angles with her returns and regularly showed off her power from the baseline to clinch the opening set.

The second set remained a closely-fought affair with Konta mixing up her game nicely to try and disrupt Halep’s momentum, the deft volleys bringing her plenty of success.

Such was the closeness of the match, a second tie-break was required and the Centre Court crowd were once again treated to a spectacle as the momentum ebbed and flowed.

It was Konta that did enough to level the match, though, and on the back of that momentum she continued to apply the pressure and claimed a pivotal break in the fifth game of the deciding set.

And she was roared on to victory by a partisan home crowd, who continue to dare to dream of Wimbledon champions in the men’s and women’s draws with Andy Murray still going strong.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Konta [6] bt Halep [2] 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Konta – 48/36
Halep – 26/9

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Konta – 3/3
Halep – 4/3

BREAK POINTS WON

Konta – 2/8
Halep – 1/2

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE

Konta – 68
Halep – 66

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE

Konta – 68/66
Halep – 72/54