The second set began much like the first, Konta once again edging ahead – this time coming out on top after three breaks of serve in a row – then holding her serve to take a 3-1 lead. I was able to fight every single point.
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Zhang, ranked 133rd in the world, hadn t won a Grand Slam match in 14 attempts before this month but she has now put together the best run by a Chinese player since the retirement of Li Na.
The final point was somewhat fortunate but the result was not and after beating seven top 20 opponents since last summer she will go up against Kerber for a place in the final with confidence.
“It will be my first match against her”, Konta said.
“She’s just an incredibly good player”, Konta said. “Like I said on the court, she’s a really nice girl”.
It is 32 years since Jo Durie reached the last eight at Wimbledon but Konta ended the wait for the next quarter-finalist as she came from behind to beat Makarova 4-6 6-4 8-6 on Margaret Court Arena.
With her semi-finals appearance set to raise British hopes of a first female grand slam champion in almost 40 years, Konta said she was not feeling any pressure.
Johanna Konta has reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, a tournament where she failed to make it out of qualifying just a year ago.
The British No1 has been the biggest shock of the Grand Slam so far and kept her remarkable run going with yet another impressive win. She netted the shot as Konta secured her third straight break for 4-1.
The 24-year-old Reid, who is ranked No. 4 in the world, says “I’m absolutely thrilled to get through – he’s a legend of our game”.
With Andy Murray taking on David Ferrer on Wednesday, it is the first time since 1977 that Britain has had players in both the men’s and women’s quarterfinals of a Grand Slam.
Konta steadied first and rushed to a 5-2 lead before an attack of nerves almost brought her undone. Murray has lost all four finals he’s contested at the Australian Open, including last year’s championship match to Novak Djokovic.
Angelique Kerber bt Victoria Azarenka 6-3 7-5 – Victoria Azarenka has been terrific at the Australian Open, both this tournament and throughout her career – but on Wednesday, Kerber was better.
“It was so hard to concentrate because I could see she was in pain”.
Konta needed six set points before finally closing out the first set against the new Chinese No 1.
The sense of calm Konta exudes on court and the conviction with which she strikes helped her upset eighth-seeded Venus Williams in her opener and 2015 semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round.
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Having blinked first in the opening set she levelled to force a decider and regained her composure after the Russian took a lengthy medical time-out one game after a 10-minute bathroom break. No players were identified and no specifics were published, and many critics believed the data was based on matches that had already examined.
