By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Johanna Konta routed Roland Garros runner-up Sloane Stephens, 6-1, 6-4, to charge into her first French Open semifinal and make history. Our Top 5 takeaways.
Photo credit: Johanna Konta Instagram
Roland Garros' red clay rewards drive and desire.
Johanna Konta exuded both rolling Roland Garros runner-up Sloane Stephens, 6-1, 6-4, to charge into her first French Open semifinal.
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Continuing her career-best clay-court run, Konta is the first British woman to reach the French Open final four since Jo Durie in 1983.
The sight of Konta across the net is unsettling for Stephens, who could not dent the 26th-seeded Briton's serve.
Konta served 70 percent, dropped only five points on first serve and faced just one break point conquering Stephens for the third time this season, following her three-set win in Rome last month.
Our Top 5 Takeaways from Konta's quarterfinal triumph.
1. All-Surface Threat
Konta has been typecast as a fast-surface threat; she's proving to be a player for all surfaces. The 28-year-old Briton has advanced to the semifinals at three of the four majors: 2016 Australian Open, 2017 Wimbledon and now Roland Garros.
"It's a different process getting here than when I got to the semifinal at Wimbledon or even when I got to the semifinal at Australia," Konta said. "I think it's a slightly different process. But more than anything, I am just really pleased with how I am just training and working every day on something that I enjoy and that I believe in."
Stephens carried a 24-7 career Roland Garros record onto court—20 more wins than Konta, who was 4-4 lifetime in Paris prior to today, but the flatter-hitting Konta commanded the center of the court squelching Stephens' skill using her speed and crosscourt drives to stretch the court.
2. Clay Craft
Winless in four prior French Open appearances, Konta has won 10 of 11 sets she's played in Paris raising her clay-court record to 15-3 on the season.
The 26th-seeded Konta has played points on her aggressive terms winning 10 of her last 11 clay-court matches with her lone lose coming to Karolina Pliskova in the Rome final last month.
So what's changed?
The former world No. 4 split with Michael Joyce and began working with Dimitri Zavialoff last fall. Konta says she's become more self-reliant working with Zavialoff, has become clearer on how to impose her aggresion on dirt and is having more fun on the soft stuff this season.
"(I'm) just enjoying that almost self-discovery process of being the player who I want to be and trusting the decisions I make out there," Konta said. "And that's been a really nice journey to be on and continue to be on, because it makes what I do out there very self-satisfying, because I feel a lot of ownership over it, which is a really nice place to be."
3. Stephens' Spirit MIA
Perhaps it was pressure of defending points from the 2018 French Open final or maybe frustration amid an unruly wind, but this was an apathetic performance from the 2017 US Open champion.
Emotionally, Stephens veered from vacant to almost disinterested failing to run for a wide ball at one point.
Playing for a return to the Roland Garros semifinal against an opponent who beat you down, 6-1, in the final set of a 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1, Rome victory last month, you have to be bring more intensity, energy and enthusiasm than a flat Stephens showed today. Konta competed with more clarity and passion charging through five straight games to take the first set.
Afterward, Stephens said the wind blew off a layer of clay making the court play faster, which suits Konta's explosive baseline game.
"She likes to play on hard court and grass, and the court was very fast today, and I think that kind of worked in her favor," Stephens said. "Obviously serving on a court that was playing a lot different than we had been playing on previously, that was a little bit tricky. Like I said, she served well, she executed a good game plan, and that's what you have to do to win."
4. Jo Can Go To Final
While she's not a natural mover on dirt, Konta is playing the most dynamic clay-court tennis of her career. She's the most experienced player still standing on the bottom half of the draw.
The three-time Slam semifinalist has been playing decisive first-strike tennis and though she's not a conventional clay-courter, Konta's success follows a recent trend. Seven of the last eight Roland Garros women's champions—Jelena Ostapenko (2017), Garbiñe Muguruza (2016), Serena Williams (2013 and 2015), Maria Sharapova (2012 and 2014) and Li Na (2011)—played aggressive baseline tennis to take the title.
Further, Konta has been efficient dropping just one set to reach her first French Open final four and she's been tenacious going the distance this year: Konta is 11-2 in three-setters this season.
5. Who's Next?
Playing for a trip to her first Grand Slam final, Konta will face 19-year-Czech left-hander Marketa Vondrousova, who has beaten reigning Roland Garros champion Simona Halep twice this season.
Vondrousova denied three set points, including zapping an ace on the third set point, reeling off 12 of the final 13 points of the opening set to spark a 7-6 (1), 7-5 win over 31st-seeded Petra Martic in today's final quarterfinal.
A master of mixing spins, Vondrousova has posted a 26-5 record since the Australian Open. In just her ninth major, Vondrousova has charged to her first Grand Slam semifinal. Konta and Vondrousova has split two prior meetings.
"I played with her twice," Vondrousva said of Konta. "I won one time and I lost in Rome, like, three weeks ago. So, I mean, she has great form and it's going to be tough match, but we'll see."