Johanna Konta: How did the British become a serious contender for the French Open?

Whether it's about trusting her talent on clay court or talking with enthusiasm about her dog Bono during discussions with reporters, Johanna Konta made a better impression of the content at the event. French Open this year.

It's perhaps obvious when she became the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1983 to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

Nevertheless, the contrast is striking with that of 12 months ago, when she had her fourth consecutive first-round outing on Parisian clay.

Then Konta was heavy and erratic on the red earth, criticizing the British media for "not making things easy" when the journalists mentioned his poor record at Roland Garros.

After a remarkable run in the past four years – where she stars Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova at 10:00 am BST Friday – her previous problems have been relegated to history.

"She looks like a different type of player – more complete, physically and mentally," said Sue Barker, the last Briton to win Roland Garros in 1976 at BBC Sport.

So how exactly did Konta, the 26th seed, turn into a title contender?

"She could still play on clay, but she did not believe it"

Konta, ranked 45th in the world, had never won the main draw at Roland Garros.

But her newly found confidence on the surface quickly became evident when she reached the WTA finals at the Moroccan Open and Italian Open.

Even though both finals ended in defeats, Konta proved she had the ability to cause problems to better ranked opponents on a previously difficult surface.

Konta insists that she has always kept her hope of winning on clay and that her work with coach Dimitri Zavialoff, with whom she had collaborated last October, was not specific to the red dirt but aimed to "touch all surfaces".

"Never win a game at Roland Garros and end up in the semi-finals, it shows that everything is in the head," said Barker.

"She could play on clay, she just did not believe in herself, now that's the case."

Durie, a former world number five, added, "You have to master the surface mentally and emotionally before changing your game a bit.

"For Jo in particular, she has an aggressive game, it's just about being able to slide better and keep balance."

Statistics clearly show how Konta managed to succeed on clay:

• Nobody won more games at the turn than Konta on the surface this year

• Konta's clay court record of 15 wins and three defeats in 2019

• Only Croatian Petra Martic, who lost to Vondrousova in the quarter-finals, equaled his winning numbers

• Konta had won only seven victories in the clay-court tour, losing 15 games in his entire career before this year.

"Tactically, she thinks very well – and do not panic"

Konta's play of service and hard shots have always been her strengths, but in the wake of her success in 2017 at Wimbledon – where she has reached the last four games – these weapons went awry.

Now she has regained her firepower with a devastating effect:

• Konta won 75.8% of its service games in 2019, no one in the top 10 in the world – having played more than 11 games – having won more

• She won 82% of her service games (40 out of 49) at Roland Garros, with only two players having a higher percentage

• The Briton earned 70% of her first points of service at Roland Garros (150 vs 213), ahead of Ekaterina Alexandrova (74%), Serena Williams (74%), Ashleigh Barty (72%) and Madison Keys (71%). %) of those who played more than two matches.

In her impressive quarter-final victory over seventh-seeded American Sloane Stephens, Konta is headed for the win by winning 18 consecutive service points early in the second set.

"I love the way she has tweaked her service so that she can hit more performing services," said Durie.

"She has more cover on the forehand, she hits very good cross-court and she really dropped the shot on goal when she has her opponent behind the end line.

"So tactically, she thinks very well."

Konta's confidence in his game of service and his ability to remain calm also testifies to the fact that no player in the top 100 has saved as many break points as the British this year.

This resilience was crucial for Konta, who saved 64.4 percent of the breakout points when she resisted for Stephens in the opening game of their quarter-final.

"She does not panic there," added the captain of the British Fed Cup, Keothavong.

Autonomy and confidence instilled by the new coach

The rapprochement with the French born coach, Zavialoff, who enjoyed success with the Swiss duo Stan Wawrinka and Timea Bacsinszky, turned out to be the spark in reviving the career of the 39, former world number four Konta.

Zavialoff's approach gives the player more "autonomy", allowing Konta to trust herself – as she says so well – to "solve problems" better on the pitch.

"He has been great in encouraging me, inviting me and leaving me the space to play the way I want to play and not putting too much stress or restrictions on myself." said Konta.

"I appreciate the process of self-discovery that involves being the player I want to be and trusting the decisions I make there.

"I feel very involved in this project, which is a really nice place."

Anne Keothavong, who guided Konta and her teammates to promote the Fed Cup World Group II finals earlier this year, believes Konta is reaping the benefits of both tennis and personal life.

"She appreciates her tennis a lot, she is happy outside the court and it shows in her tennis, she is able to produce a match day," said Keothavong.

"There is more clarity when she walks on the field, what she wants to do, how she has to win the game."

"She is exploiting her strengths, she has always been able to do different things, but now is doing so with more confidence."

Konta has always maintained her belief

Konta, of course, has already proved that she was able to mix it with the best players in the world.

Her decisive run took place at the Australian Open 2016, where she bowed to German Angelique Kerber in the semifinal, before becoming the first Briton to reach the four goals at Wimbledon since 1978, the following year.

This race at the SW19 has propelled it to fourth place in the world rankings. However, the effect of increased scrutiny on a local player who was successful at Wimbledon seemed to be bothering her, since she had won only two more matches in 2017.

"She said that she felt like she was bumping into a brick wall, to all those emotions she was just struggling to get going," Durie said.

"For a little while, she tried to cope with success, it can happen."

The hiring of the US coach Michael Joyce for the 2018 season proved unsuccessful: she won just two Grand Slam games and her ranking went from ninth in the world to the dawn of the top 50.

After ending this partnership, Konta hired Zavialoff after a trial and the decision proved inspiring.

Unpredictable Women's Tournament Open Wide

Konta's journey to the final stages – and a potential chance of becoming the first Briton to win the title at Roland Garros since Barker in 1976 – has opened as a result of an unpredictable women's tournament.

World No. 1 Naomi Osaka, second seed Karolina Pliskova and former champion Serena Williams all lost in the third round and only three top-10 players qualified for the quarter-finals.

Amanda Anisimova surprised 2018 champion Simona Halep in straight sets and the eighth-seeded Australian, Ashleigh Barty, eliminated Madison Keys to form an uncommon team in the last four places.

Halep's defeat means that there will surely be a new Grand Slam champion on Saturday, Konta being the only one in the last quartet to reach the semifinals in singles before.

The furthest race from Vondrousova before the defeat of Roland Garros in the fourth round of the US Open last year.

Barty reached his first quarterfinal home at this year 's Australian Open, tilting in the face of finalist Petra Kvitova, who ended the best performance of the season. Anisimova at a Slam in the fourth round.

It was only the third appearance of the American teenager in the main draw of a Slam, after his defeat in the first rounds of the US French Open 2017 and the US Open 2018.

"Jo has already reached the semifinals of the Grand Slam and has not built on it," Barker said.

"But maybe because she's been here before, after this dive, it will not be as difficult this time because she knows what to expect and can better cope with the situation."