Johanna Konta remained tough to edge out Karolina Pliskova 6-7(1) 6-3 7-5 to reach the last eight at the US Open.
Despite losing a comfortable first set lead, the Brit remained tough to edge out Pliskova and reach the US Open quarter-finals.
Another disappointing grand slam season comes to a close for Pliskova, who was just second best to Konta throughout the match.
The Brit plays Madison Keys or Elina Svitolina next.
After struggling her way through the opening week, Pliskova continued her unconvincing start to matches as she allowed Konta to feel comfortable early on.
Timing the ball well, the Brit gained control early with a break of serve at the start of the match as the third seed failed to deal with her opponent’s power.
While Konta managed good depth and power, there were a lot of unforced errors coming from the racket of Pliskova as she conceded a lot of break points.
One thing the Czech Republican did manage to do well was win the crucial pressure points and be clutch on serve when it mattered.
Nine break points were saved in the opening set as Pliskova denied the Brit the opportunity to have the cushion of a double break advantage.
Although the opening set still appeared to be going one way, Konta’s mental fortitude had been under intense scrutiny this season and that was once again her downfall in the opening set.
A loose game when serving for the set, saw her broken to love and Pliskova’s resilience had paid off as the set was now at 5-5.
The inevitable tiebreak would decide the opening set and once again many unforced errors from the Brit saw Pliskova dominate the tiebreak 7-1.
An undeserved lead many would feel but one Pliskova was gladly going to take and added to her momentum in the second set.
Some deep returning saw her grab two breaks of serve to Konta’s one break as the Brit needed to adjust if she wanted to turn the match around.
Adjust is exactly what the 16th seed managed to do as some different angles and spins gave the Brit four games in a row to force a deciding set against the former finalist.
Both players played their best and most effective tennis in the final set with first serves and powerful groundstrokes ensuring easy service games.
It would now come down to who would crack first under pressure and unfortunately for the third seed it was a loose game from her in the eleventh game to give the Brit the opportunity to close out the match.
After saving break point a backhand unforced error from the Czech Republican closed out a significant win for Konta, who has reached the quarter-final stage at three of the four slams in 2019.
As for Pliskova it’s another disappointment as the Australian Open becomes the only grand slam where she reached the quarter-finals this year.
After the match, Konta revealed she is just enjoying the moment, “I’m just really happy. I’ve been in this position twice before so to go one step further is a massive achievement for me. I’m hoping to go one, two or even three steps further. I’m just enjoying the moment. I’m really pleased.”
Next for Konta will either be another former finalist in Madison Keys or Elina Svitolina.
