Johanna Konta produced arguably the best performance of her career to beat Simona Halep 6-7(2) 7-6(5) 6-4 and become the first British woman to reach a Wimbledon semi-final since Virginia Wade in 1978. It was a remarkably close, high-quality match which could have gone either way, but ultimately Konta’s more potent serve seemed to make the difference as the Romanian was unable to break in either the second or third set.

The match did not start well for the Brit as Halep raced into a 4-1 lead in the opening set by hitting winners and forcing her opponent to make errors. However, after an easy love hold, Konta drilled a few good groundstrokes at the Romanian to draw errors and earn herself a break point, which she took with a backhand winner. Then, the World No.7 withstood a pair of very good points from Halep to hold onto her serve and level the match at 4-4.

At that stage, both players raised their level, serving accurately and arrowing groundstrokes into all corners of the court to trade four holds and take it to a tie-break. Halep responded far better to the situation. First, she found a superb angle to win a stunning rally with a deft cross-court forehand, then she made Konta play an extra shot in another excellent rally and the Brit hit her drive volley long. That made the score 4-2 in the Romanian’s favor and she took full advantage by forcing Konta to make two errors and hitting a forehand winner across the court after dictating a good rally to win the next three points and secure the set 7-6(2).

Neither player gave an inch during a superb second set illuminated by some wonderful shots from both sides of the court. Halep produced the first as she hit a superb cross-court forehand, only for Konta to respond with a similar shot a few points later. Then a fantastic low backhand from the Romanian proved impossible for the Brit to return. Next, there was some exceptional serving as both players found the lines to make it incredibly difficult for their opponent to have any chance of a break. And finally, there was some superb defensive play as both players won rallies they should have lost by retrieving the unlikeliest balls imaginable.

All that high-quality tennis contributed to twelve consecutive holds and meant tie-break was once again needed to settle the set. After being a little passive in the first tie-break, Konta made sure she was the aggressor this time as she stepped inside the baseline whenever she could and hit her groundstrokes hard and deep. This strategy paid off as she forced Halep to make four errors and won the tie-break 7-5.

The final set hinged on the second game which featured Halep’s only break point chance in the decider. During the first four points of the game, Konta hit an ace, a double fault, a drive volley winner and an unforced error. Then the Brit twice failed to hit a volley winner and the Romanian punished her by hitting an excellent passing shot beyond her to earn break point. However, Konta saved it with a risky cross-court forehand winner that landed on the line.

The World No.7 tried to finish the game quickly by coming to the net and hitting winners but, despite some success, Halep dragged her back to deuce three times before Konta finally held with the help of an extraordinary cross-court forehand winner she hit with her feet off the ground. After the pair traded holds, the Brit earned the decisive break in game five by hammering groundstrokes at her Romanian opponent and compelling her to make errors. Having got the break, Konta gave Halep no chance to break back as she produced another masterclass of serving in her next two holds to win the set 6-4. Unfortunately, a spectator screamed on match point, which denied the encounter a truly rapturous conclusion, but it was nevertheless a brilliant match and a fantastic win for the Brit.

Konta said, “To be in the semifinals of my home slam, and to do that in front of a full Centre Court, is pretty special. I think the level of tennis that both of us played today made it a tremendous match. I've been very fortunate to be a part of two matches like that these Championships.”

Responding to Halep’s comments that she won the match rather than the Romanian losing it, the Brit said, “That's a massive compliment from her. Against someone like Simona, you do have to win it because she gives you so little, so few chances. So, I really felt I had to take the chances I created because there weren't very many.”

Konta explained that previous encounters with Halep helped her today. She said, “I think there's definitely an element of knowing your opponent slightly more if you've played against her before. We’ve played each other twice before this year, but I definitely looked to treat today's match separately because she's in magnificent form. I think I was very prepared for her to really, really challenge me and make it very difficult for me, which she did.”

Halep said, “I think it was great tennis. Both of us played a good level. I was very close, again. In the tie-break maybe I could have served better. Then in the third set, after I lost my serve it was a little bit tough to still believe that I could break her because she was serving pretty well. I think everything was okay. I can take many positives from this match. She played really well, so she deserved to win.”

The last two opponents to beat the Romanian in Grand Slam matches, Konta and Jelena Ostapenko, have played spectacular tennis to beat her. Reflecting on this, Halep said, “It's good that maybe she played the best match today, the best tennis. It's a good thing. Maybe I can take from here also a positive that all the players that are beating me are playing maybe their best tennis. But it doesn't make me happier. I'm just taking as it is and moving on.”

Konta will play Venus Williams in the semi-final after the American took full advantage of an error-strewn display by French Open champion Ostapenko to earn a comfortable 6-3 7-5 victory in just 73 minutes. Venus served well throughout and made relatively few errors, in contrast to her Latvian opponent who frequently erred, particularly on her backhand side.

And Ostapenko was disappointed with her performance. She said, “I didn't start the match very well. I was missing a little bit. But she was playing good today. She was serving well. It was very tough to break. Because of that, I had more pressure because I had to keep my serve.” She continued, “I wish I could play better because, I mean, I was not playing bad, but I was just not playing the way I wanted to play today. But I hope we'll play more matches and I can perform better.”

Afterward, the American described tennis as “a beautiful game” and explained why she believes that. She said, “I love the challenge. I love pressure. It's not always easy dealing with the pressure. There's constant pressure. It's only yourself who can have the answer for that. I love that on the last day you play, you're still improving. It's not something that is stagnant. There's always a reason. You have to get better. I love that.”