Konta matched her own best Grand Slam performances at the Australian Open in 2016 and Wimbledon the following year, as well as the performance of Jo Durie, who was the last British woman to reach the last four here in 1983
Tuesday 4 June 2019 19:55, UK
British No 1 Johanna Konta felt she produced one of her "best performances" as she swept aside Sloane Stephens to reach a third Grand Slam semi-final at the French Open.
It was scarcely believable that this was the same player who had never won a main-draw match at Roland Garros before this year as she raced to a 6-1 6-4 victory in just 71 minutes.
Stephens lost in the final last year to Simona Halep and had been backed to get there again but she was powerless to stop Konta, who hit 25 winners in the match and only dropped one point on serve in the second set.
Konta is never one to get carried away, and she said of her reaction: "I think happy more than anything. I feel just really happy. I feel really pleased with how I dealt with the conditions out there and just how I gave myself space to play. I thought I played the game.
"It's definitely one of my best performances. It's hard to pinpoint what is the best performance, because you're always dealing with different types of opponents or different types of conditions.
"I definitely thought I played well behind my serve more than anything, and kept a good variety in there, which I think made it also difficult for Sloane to find her rhythm in those games. But I think overall I just played a good match."
Stephens is one of the best athletes on tour but she was made to look slow by the pace of her opponent's game, and the American said: "Obviously she played well. She was serving really well.
"There is not much you can do when someone is playing like that. She definitely played her game today. I didn't get a chance to really get into the match."
Konta even left the legendary Chris Evert speechless with the quality of her performance.
Jo Konta, I take my hat off to you, I have never seen her play that kind of tennis, she would have beaten anybody the way she played today.
Evert, who won seven singles titles at Roland Garros in the 1970s and 80s, told Eurosport: "I am speechless, and not many matches make me speechless.
"The way Konta played that match, not giving Sloane a chance. Jo Konta, I take my hat off to you, I have never seen her play that kind of tennis, she would have beaten anybody the way she played today."
Konta will climb back inside the top 20 in the rankings on Monday and would return to the top 10 if she goes on to become the first British winner of the title since Sue Barker in 1976.
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