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Jo Konta reaches Wimbledon semi-finals after beating second seed Simona Halep in thriller
British ace Konta keeps alive dreams of becoming the country's first ladies' champion since 1977 with epic win over Halep
JOHANNA KONTA blasted her way to the Wimbledon semi-finals as she came from a set behind to beat number two seed Simona Halep.
Konta produced a thrilling fightback to see off her Romanian opponent and keep alive her hopes of becoming the first British woman since 1977 to win the ladies' title.
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She now faces a potentially explosive last four clash with Venus Williams on Centre Court on Thursday as she looks to secure a place in the final.
Konta started slowly and was broken in her first game - before she broke back to force the first set into a tie-break.
But too often she lost her composure on the vital points and her Romanian opponent was able to take advantage to move a set up.
The British number one looked more settled in the second set, although she made a series of unforced errors that stopped her from imposing herself on Halep.
Twice she created break points opportunities, only to squander them and eventually the set went to another tie-break
This time, however, she held her nerve on the big points and took the set to level as the home crowd went wild.
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Both players traded blows in the third set, with Konta having to work hard to hold her serve in only the second game.
But in game five the Brit stepped up the pressure to force two break points - and this time there was no mistake as Halep started to crumble under the pressure.
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Konta held her serve in her next two games, and Halep was just as impressive on her serve.
But Konta came out leading 5-4 to a huge ovation from the Centre Court crowd - and she delivered when it mattered to secure the win 6-7 7-6 6-4 and book a last-four date with Williams.
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Konta said: “Right now it’s a little bit surreal because its quite incredible how things go in tennis.
“I definitely felt very clear on what I was trying to achieve out there. I stuck to my true self.
"I knew going into the match against Simona that she was really not going to give me stuff for free. I had to do it out there.
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“I felt quite consistent in my approach and in my general being out there. Not much changed.
“The crowd were incredible, a little over enthusiastic in parts.
“I think it was a woman on my end screamed on match point. I think she got over excited about the deep ball that Simona hit.
"It was right as I was about to hit my shot, I think it more affected me than my opponent. Emotions were running."
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