WIMBLEDON SEMIFINALS
Venus in way of Konta’s history bid
The 26-year-old is the first British woman to make the Wimbledon semifinals since Virginia Wade in 1978
London — Johanna Konta has history in her sights as the world No7 bids to become the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon final for 40 years, when she faces her childhood idol Venus Williams on Thursday. Konta displayed nerves of steel in her pulsating 6-7 (2/7) 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 quarterfinal victory over world No2 Simona Halep on Tuesday. The 26-year-old is the first British woman to make the Wimbledon semifinals since Virginia Wade in 1978 and a victory over five-time champion Williams would make her the first Briton into the women’s final at the All England Club since Wade won the title in 1977. Born in Australia to Hungarian parents, Konta did not move to the UK until she was 14, but regardless of her heritage, she has been adopted as one of their own by Wimbledon fans. Now a resident of Eastbourne, the historic significance of her Wimbledon run, and the crowd’s reaction to it, has been an eye-opener for Konta, who until this fortnight could have walked unrecognised down any s...
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