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Johanna Konta becomes first British woman into Wimbledon semifinals since 1978

Johanna Konta will face Venus Williams in the Wimbledon semifinals. 

Jon Wertheim

Johanna Konta becomes first British woman into Wimbledon semifinals since 1978
Johanna Konta becomes first British woman into Wimbledon semifinals since 1978 /

On Monday, Jo Konta became the first British woman to reach the Round of Eight since Jo Durie did it in 1984. On Tuesday, Konta became the first British woman to reach the semis since Virginia Wade in 1978. She did so by outfighting SimonaHalep, the No. 2 seed, in perhaps the match of the tournament, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. Konta is now two wins from becoming the first British female to win since Wade in 1977.

Pity Halep for a moment. At the French Open she was a few points from winning her first major before capitulating in the finals. Today she was a few points from taking over the top ranking before capitulating. The top honor goes instead to KarolinaPliskova, who lost in round two (to Rybarikova) but must be happier (and wealthier) today.

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Jon Wertheim
JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat , sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.

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