Jo Konta moves into French Open quarter-finals after 6-2 6-4 victory over Croatian Donna Vekic
JO Konta survived the hot Paris sun to bash close pal Donna Vekic at the French Open.
Under 30-degree midday heat, Konta brushed aside her Croatian friend 6-2 6-4 in an hour-and-a-half in the fourth round.
It means she is in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time – and the first Brit to get this far since Jo Durie in 1983.
It also means Konta has reached the last eight of three of the four Slams now – Wimbledon (2017) and Australian Open (2016 and 2017).
Never again can anyone say she doesn’t feel at home on clay or it's an alien surface.
With her results here, added to those recent performances in Morocco and Rome, she has showed a real aptitude for matches on the red stuff. It is incredible to think that before this year she had not won a match at the French Open in four previous attempts.
On the hottest day of the 2019 Championship, Konta was in control throughout, breaking Vekic several times in the first set and playing with confidence even when she was down, notably hitting clean winners on break points.
The Court Suzanne-Lenglen crowd, which was only a 1,000 or so strong when Konta started to play, marvelled at her composure, guile and consistency despite the tricky, sticky conditions.
Konta has practised many times with Vekic and the two speak a lot on Tour, so it was no great surprise that she knew her game inside out.
The 28-year-old said: "I'm very pleased. To win a match like this, against a tough opponent, and in front of a crowd like this, it gives you goosebumps.
"We have had a number of great battles down the years and I have lost the last two times we have played. It was our first time on clay, and I knew I had the game to be able to beat her. When I came out here, I tried to do my best, and work on the good things I was doing."
Her next opponent will be either American Sloane Stephens or Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, the 2017 Wimbledon singles champion.
Durie, 58, lost in the semi-finals of the French Open 38 years ago - and a nation will be praying Konta can go at least one better during a potentially historic week in the French capital.
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