She is the first British woman to be in the last four of a grand slam event in 30 years. But the Scotsman moved out to a 4-1 lead in the third set, during which there was a brief break when the roof on Rod Laver Arena was closed due to an approaching thunderstorm.
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“I found it a bit easier to return”.
“Johanna Konta has done unbelievable”, said the younger Murray.
“Obviously the last few days have been tough and maybe I hadn’t played my best tennis but I managed to get through”. Murray, who has noticeably boosted his previously weaker second serve, extended his record over Ferrer to 13-6.
Lapses of concentration cost him dear, however, and he was 40-0 up in the fourth game of the contest when a string of unforced errors allowed Murray to clinch the break that won him the set.
Ferrer had the better of the tiebreak, including winning a memorable 31-shot rally, and he claimed it on his first set point when Murray’s forehand was wide. Murray beat David Ferrer 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam for the 18th time.
Nevertheless, Konta, on her sixth set point, fired down a fierce ace to take the opener.
In the women’s section, Johanna Konta became the first British woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since 1983 Wednesday when she ended the dream run of Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai at the Australian Open.
The Chinese star, who had lost all 14 of her previous Grand Slam matches before this year’s tournament, was responsible for the demise of second seed Simona Halep and injured 15th seed Madison Keys.
While seeded higher than Azarenka – who spiralled down the rankings during an injury-plagued 2014 season – Kerber was a big underdog on Wednesday after being crushed by the former world No. 1 in the Brisbane final earlier this month.
In the earlier quarter-final, Konta’s semi-final opponent Angelique Kerber stunned dual Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in straight sets.
Konta, an Aussie by birth but a British citizen since 2012, is the first woman from the U.K.to reach the Aussie Open semis since 1977.
“I can’t actually describe it in words. If she keeps going like this and plays aggressive, I think she can do good stuff”.
Since fighting off a match point against Japan’s Misaki Doi in the first round of the tournament, Kerber has not dropped a set on her way to the last four.
In the most pivotal game of the opener, Kerber withstood the Azarenka charge by saving two break points in a five-deuce game.
He has coped admirably in the face of adversity; his father-in-law Nigel Sears collapsed on court on Saturday as Murray played on another court. Could have been a first round, could have been any round in this tournament. Her baseline power and ability to create angles was simply too much for her opponents.
The Belarusian broke Kerber for the first time and edged back to 4-3 as the German began to doubt.
The eighth game, however, saw a shift in momentum as Zhang, perhaps loosened up by her deficit, swung more freely while Konta, with the set in her grasp, grew tight.
“I actually did see myself serve (recently) and I’m like, ‘Ohhh, that looks really awkward, ‘” she laughed.
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Reid, who played before fellow Scotsman Andy Murray went on court for his quarterfinal in the main draw, beat Kunieda 6-3, 7-6 (1) to advance to a semifinal against Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina.
