Jo Konta is first Brit woman into Wimbledon quarter-finals for 33 years after thrilling victory over Caroline Garcia
British No1 into the last eight after 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 triumph on Court One at SW19
JO KONTA became the first British woman in 33 years to make the Wimbledon quarter-finals after seeing off Caroline Garcia.
Not since Jo Durie in 1984 had a female player from these shores made it into the last eight at SW19.
But that long wait has now come to an end as No6 seed Konta continued her magical tournament with a hard-fought 7-6 4-6 6-4 victory.
There was very little between the two players as Garcia, ranked No21 in the world, matched Konta’s impressive power in rallies and on serve throughout.
But ultimately it was the French star who gaffed at the worst time for Konta to prevail and set up a clash tomorrow with either Simone Halep or Victoria Azarenka.
Konta got off to a flying start by breaking in the very first game.
But if the Brit’s army of fans inside Court One thought it would be that easy beyond the opener, they were to be left disappointed.
Garcia quickly sorted out her game and it became a match of who would blink first.
Konta did at 5-4 when a Garcia challenge saw a forehand initially deemed long overturned by Hawkeye to break back at 5-5.
But the British No1 recovered to come through 7-3 in the tie-break, sealing it with an 108mph ace.
Her level dipped in the second as French star Garcia’s rose, and at 5-1 it looked a foregone conclusion.
Konta reeled off three games to make it a contest but Garcia was never going to be so generous to throw away two breaks of serve and wrapped it up with an emphatic smash.
Into the decider it went and as the match clock crossed the two-hour mark, with both players looking unbeatable on serve, it looked as if it may rival Konta’s 3hr10mins second-round epic against Donna Vekic.
Johanna Konta on her victory
"To be honest it was such a tough match to play, she's in good form and serving really well.
"It's a bit breezy out there which made it difficult for both of us but overall I'm just glad I managed to get returns in. I was able to neutralise her balls.
"It's those positions that I dream off, dreamt off when I was a little girl. Very, very excited that I get to play again."
But at 5-4 down, Garcia’s resolve finally cracked when she walloped an easy forehand into the net to hand the tie to Konta on her one and only match point.
The pair kissed on either cheek and embraced at the net as the home crowd celebrated like crazy.
And who could blame them. Three decades is a long, long time to wait.
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