"I have only been at this stage a handful of times so to be back here, I'm definitely very pleased."
Sunday 2 June 2019 21:33, UK
Johanna Konta is delighted to be back in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam - but the British No 1 does not want to stop there.
Konta produced one of the best displays of her career to defeat 23rd seed Donna Vekic 6-2 6-4 in the fourth round of the French Open and make the last eight at a Grand Slam for the fourth time.
Konta was already the first British woman through to the fourth round at Roland Garros since 1983 and she is now just one win away from matching Jo Durie's achievement of making the semi-finals that year.
It is by some distance her best Grand Slam run since she reached the last four at Wimbledon two years ago, after which she experienced feelings of burn-out and a dramatic slump in her fortunes.
I would love to be here until the very end.
"I have only been at this stage a handful of times," said Konta. "So to be back here, I'm definitely very pleased.
"This is not my end goal or anything, I would love to be here until the very end, but I'm also doing my best at really enjoying the different matches I get to play and the different accomplishments that I get to experience. Today was definitely one."
On her victory over Vekic, the 28-year-old added: "It was a good match. I thought I had very, very few drops in my level, which I think definitely kept the pressure on her."
Sloane Stephens, who is the highest-ranked player left apart from Simona Halep, will face Konta in the last eight after beating former champion Garbine Muguruza 6-4 6-3.
"I thought it was a good match," said the American. "I thought we both played really well. It was very competitive. I think she's been playing some good tennis, and I think so have I.
"Clay is very neutral. She plays really well on this surface. And obviously since she is such an intense and aggressive player, you kind of have to match her energy.
"I think you can't get passive when you're playing her, so I knew from the very first point I was going to have to step it up and hit my shots. And that's what I did was try to match her the whole way through."
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