Britain’s Johanna Konta fought back from a set down to beat Romania’s Simon Halep 3-6, 7-6(9/7), 6-2 and claim a spot in the semifinals of the Miami Open here on Wednesday.
The victory over the third-seeded Halep means Konta becomes the first British woman to reach the last four at Miami.
“I’m really happy that I’ve come through and I am just looking forward to my next round — it’s going to be a tough one,” said Konta.
Halep settled well in the opening set, with her powerful forehand dominant, but Konta fought back well in the second.
The Australia-born Konta broke early to establish a 3-0 lead but the gritty Romanian clawed her way back winning the next three games while her opponent failed to make the most of her openings in what was an error-strewn contest.
Nonetheless Konta stuck at her task and was able to break again when Halep was serving for the match and force a tie-break which she eventually won 9-7 to take the pair into the third game. There was a tense discussion between Halep and her Australian coach Darren Cahill.
Konta broke in the fifth game of the deciding set and visibly growing in confidence she broke again to take a 5-2 lead and serve out for the match.
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