Screamer helps Konta bury Halep

LONDON - Johanna Konta won a place at the Wimbledon semifinal table on Tuesday in a feast of tension-filled tennis, powering past Simona Halep in three epic sets to become the first British woman to reach the final four in almost 40 years.

In a match dripping with tension at one of the most open women's grasscourt Grand Slams in years, Konta rode a wave of home support to win 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-4.

The match closed on a surreal note, when the final point was punctuated by a spectator's scream. Halep lamely netted a forehand as she appealed in vain for a let.

Halep said afterward the match point should have been replayed after the fan screamed out, causing the Romanian to check her stride and shot.

Just as the second seed went into her wind-up on a forehand to stay in the tie, a woman's loud, piercing shriek echoed around Centre Court - amplified to dramatic effect by the closed roof.

Halep was obviously distracted by the call and looked to umpire Kader Nouni to rule the point to be replayed.

But no call was forthcoming and Konta looked bemused as she walked to the net after her win.

"I thought he was going to repeat the point. I think it's normal to repeat the point when someone is screaming like that," said Halep.

"He said, 'We cannot replay. I cannot change anything.' So why I should fight?"

Konta, 26, said the scream was just as distracting from her side.

"It was a woman on my end who screamed. I think she was over-excited about the deep ball that Simona hit. It was actually as I was hitting my ball, so I think it more affected me than my opponent," she said.

"I think the fans were a little over-enthusiastic at times. But I definitely cannot complain with the amount of support and general good feelings that they were wishing my way."

Konta, seeded sixth, and second-seeded Halep were facing each other for the first time since a turbulent Fed Cup tie in April.

As the rain drummed down outside the roofed Centre Court and avoiding eye contact at changeovers, the pair also had the extra weight of history to contend with.

Konta, working hard to keep her opponent pinned behind the baseline, was bidding to book a date with Venus Williams on Thursday as the first home semifinalist since Virginia Wade in 1978, the year after Wade won the title.

Halep, scampering from wing to wing as she soaked up the pressure, was one match from becoming the first Romanian to top the computerized world rankings - a distinction that, following her loss, passed to Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

The refined surroundings of the main showcourt were a world away from the tiny stadium on the Black Sea where the two players last met, with Halep winning in straight sets.

Konta became tearful during her other singles match against Sorana Cirstea in that Fed Cup tie, blaming what she called a hostile reception from Romanian fans who Halep this week described as "very fair".

On Tuesday, the Australia-born Konta struggled to take it all in - but for altogether different reasons.

"Right now it's a little bit surreal," she told the BBC after sealing victory in just under three hours.

"Simona was really not going to give me much for free, so I definitely had to be the one out there to create my own chances and I felt I did that."

Konta said she was "excited and humbled" to be facing Williams, a match Wade predicted the Briton would win.

"It's fine to be the last British women's winner at Wimbledon, but it's better to have plenty of British players to win," Wade said in comments released by the All England Club.

"If I get a chance I will tell (Johanna) how well she played and wish her good luck."

Reuters - AFP