Semi-Final, Part 1

:00:37. > :00:43.Good afternoon from Eastbourne. No rain, no thunder, no lightning, a

:00:44. > :00:46.gentle sea breeze and the most glorious sunshine. After all the

:00:47. > :00:51.interruptions, this is how the draw looks at the moment. Rushing towards

:00:52. > :00:57.Centre Court to see Jo Konta in action. This week, in between the

:00:58. > :01:04.rain showers, we have had some spectacular 3-set matches. There was

:01:05. > :01:12.the match a few months ago finishing between Dominika Cibulkova and

:01:13. > :01:13.Agnieszka Radwanska. Cibulkova coming back to win after going a set

:01:14. > :01:31.down. Pliskova is waiting for the winner

:01:32. > :01:35.of the match that has literally just art it. Jo has not got off to the

:01:36. > :01:42.best start because she has lost her serve but she is 30-0 in her second

:01:43. > :01:53.service game. We will join Sam Smith and Antioch along.

:01:54. > :01:59.COMMENTATOR: Devonshire Park looking picture perfect. Very different from

:02:00. > :02:06.the monsoon conditions of yesterday evening. They were held until 7:30pm

:02:07. > :02:16.before being told to come back tomorrow. Just what Jo needed, a

:02:17. > :02:22.convincing service game after being broken in the first of the match.

:02:23. > :02:30.Playing in front of a packed house here. It is the third meeting

:02:31. > :02:34.between these two. They played here last year, Konta winning in straight

:02:35. > :02:40.sets. They then played a wonderful match at the Australian Open on the

:02:41. > :02:44.Margaret Court Arena, 8-6 in the decider for Jo. One of the best

:02:45. > :02:52.performances to date that she had put in. But the pressure has changed

:02:53. > :02:56.now, Konta rated 18 in the world, Makarova is a former champion here

:02:57. > :03:07.and has been in the top ten. Expectation is that Konta will back

:03:08. > :03:11.up the victory. The pressure is on Konta. Makarova can play with more

:03:12. > :03:19.freedom these days. I don't think her expectations are too high. A

:03:20. > :03:21.former champion here. A ninth consecutive appearance. It is the

:03:22. > :03:25.sort of tournament that when it comes to the end of the season and

:03:26. > :03:30.sorting out her calendar, eased Bourne is written in then

:03:31. > :03:35.straightaway. She has had a good run here, beating the British wild card

:03:36. > :03:40.Tara Moore in her opening match. She then beat last is US Open finalist

:03:41. > :03:48.Roberta Vinci and then three sets needed against the former German

:03:49. > :03:51.number one Andrea Petkovic. It has been a busy week for all of the

:03:52. > :03:59.players here. A couple of matches per day as one of these two will.

:04:00. > :04:00.Whoever makes the semifinal against Pliskova will be forth on Centre

:04:01. > :04:30.Court. -- fourth. Let's tell you about it capturing

:04:31. > :04:36.of. 28 years of age, lives and practices in Moscow. For many years

:04:37. > :04:55.has been one of the top Russian players.

:04:56. > :05:05.Had to grow up in the golden syrup of Russian tennis and has almost

:05:06. > :05:23.been in the shadows. Last year she went into the top ten.

:05:24. > :05:32.And lastly is one of the world's worst doubles players. A wonderful

:05:33. > :05:36.partnership with Elena Vesnina. Two grand slam titles have come their

:05:37. > :06:22.way. Konta with three chances to get the break back.

:06:23. > :06:57.Looking so poised and the British number one is back on track.

:06:58. > :07:02.That serve is going to be key in this match today. Has served so well

:07:03. > :07:27.in this tournament so far. Everything about Johanna Konta is

:07:28. > :07:32.very deliberate. Particularly the start of this serve and the way she

:07:33. > :07:58.bounces it. It tells you everything you need to know about her.

:07:59. > :08:09.Looked a little nervous in her opening match but came through. Was

:08:10. > :08:16.so impressive coming from a set down against Tetra Kvitova. The two-time

:08:17. > :08:24.Wimbledon champion, 6-0 in the decider. She said she was seeing the

:08:25. > :08:27.ball like a football. That was way back on Wednesday afternoon. Didn't

:08:28. > :08:47.get an court yesterday. She has the wind with her on this

:08:48. > :08:50.end, Konta. Yes, as you look down the court, it is blowing

:08:51. > :08:55.left-to-right, a diagonal over that left shoulder. The southern end

:08:56. > :09:01.seems to be the easier end to play with the wind but I'm due. -- behind

:09:02. > :09:42.you. Fantastic from the British number

:09:43. > :09:46.one. A great drop shot to win the point but it was the forehand

:09:47. > :09:54.crosscourt that was really impressive from Konta. The way she

:09:55. > :10:05.is able to defend from that win these days, so much better. -- from

:10:06. > :10:22.that side. Really good recovery from being broken in her opening game.

:10:23. > :10:29.I am trying to get in my head, Jo Konta of 12 months ago when she was

:10:30. > :10:34.ranked 140 in the world. How she came through all the weight get

:10:35. > :10:39.through to the quarterfinals before losing to Belinda Bencic and beating

:10:40. > :10:45.Garbine Muguruza, which is a result looking better with age. And last

:10:46. > :10:51.week broke into the world top 20. It has been an extraordinary 12 months,

:10:52. > :10:57.can you explain what has happened? No other player has been able to

:10:58. > :11:01.rise up the rankings as rapidly as Johanna Konta in the last 12 months.

:11:02. > :11:08.The improvement she has made, everything now, it is a totally

:11:09. > :11:13.different experience. It has taken its toll on her. If you look at her

:11:14. > :11:22.results over the last couple of weeks, the demand is now on and off

:11:23. > :11:28.the court have had a bit of an effect on her. They have quadrupled.

:11:29. > :11:33.It is not something she hasn't been used do in the past. But it is

:11:34. > :11:37.something she will have to get used to quickly because everybody wants a

:11:38. > :11:42.piece of her. She is playing some wonderful tennis, that match against

:11:43. > :11:46.Kvitova was one of the best we have seen from her. Ekaterina Makarova

:11:47. > :11:48.who has been a fine player over the last decade knows she has her work

:11:49. > :12:57.cut out here. Great to see her back on tour, she

:12:58. > :13:05.didn't play in the US Open last year. Struggled with an injury in

:13:06. > :13:09.her right leg. Was forced to restart at the beginning of the season.

:13:10. > :13:10.Always known as a dangerous opponent. A great shot maker from

:13:11. > :13:35.the back of the court. We will try not to go on about it

:13:36. > :13:42.too much but they are playing in a wind tunnel. They really are, it is

:13:43. > :13:48.not easy on court. It is swirling around a lot. And bouncing off all

:13:49. > :13:50.of the stands. It is the most windy day we have had so far here at

:13:51. > :14:43.Devonshire Park. Konta wanted to have a look at that

:14:44. > :14:50.but a bit late with the challenge. There was a look over to her coach

:14:51. > :15:02.and he shrugged at her. He is on the service line behind the umpire. Not

:15:03. > :15:07.in a good position. It was the baseline nearest our commentary box.

:15:08. > :15:13.I must admit it did look long. But we are not infallible. Our

:15:14. > :15:51.performance has been mixed. The call is confirmed and Makarova holds.

:15:52. > :16:08.Her mum is here this week. Her mum, Olga. I wonder if mum had in that

:16:09. > :16:10.challenge. Not really supposed to look to the coaching camp, are you?

:16:11. > :17:13.It is hard not to. She will need a change of socks for

:17:14. > :17:15.next week, at SW 19. They are not ankle supports? I think they may

:17:16. > :18:09.need to be white next week. Luxury for Jo, she can stay with her

:18:10. > :18:14.parents who have a place not far from here. Her dad was here

:18:15. > :18:26.yesterday. Her likes to go back and watch it on TV. Yes, her mum gets

:18:27. > :18:30.too nervous. Her mum, Gabriella. Her mum has been around and about to

:18:31. > :18:37.watch practises and to hang out with Jo between matches. When it actually

:18:38. > :18:41.comes down to the nitty-gritty, she prefers to go in and out of her

:18:42. > :18:46.sitting room to see what is going on the TV. She gets too nervous to sit

:18:47. > :19:05.courtside. This is also another area where

:19:06. > :19:10.Konta has made huge improvements at defence, but also the way she uses

:19:11. > :19:30.the slice backhand. Well Makarova... Konta is looking

:19:31. > :19:43.very comfortable. That's been the surprise, really,

:19:44. > :19:48.that wonderful run to the Australian Open semi-finals, up to the fourth

:19:49. > :19:53.round at the US Open last year. It isn't just she's had a big week or

:19:54. > :19:59.fortnight and then dropped off in form, she's continued to back up

:20:00. > :20:03.results. She won in Asia last year and nearly beating Venus Williams,

:20:04. > :20:07.who she beat at Melbourne Park. She has continually backed up these

:20:08. > :20:11.results and to me looks like she belongs in the top 20 now. It is

:20:12. > :20:16.incredible watching her play these days. This is a completely different

:20:17. > :20:22.Johanna Konta to the Konta I remember plaque tising with a few

:20:23. > :20:27.years ago. I mean, she doesn't, outwardly, anyway, fret as much. She

:20:28. > :20:30.contains her emotions and manages everything better than she ever used

:20:31. > :20:34.to. And in terms of her game, you know,

:20:35. > :20:39.she's always had the game to play well. It just never used to come

:20:40. > :20:44.together consistently enough. The improvements in her movement,

:20:45. > :20:48.her defensive game, as well as her forehand have been huge. They have

:20:49. > :20:53.been subtle little changes she's been working on with her coach. And

:20:54. > :21:00.the most important thing, though, she believes. It is wonderful to see

:21:01. > :21:05.after five or six years on the satellite and challenger tour, which

:21:06. > :21:10.is a difficult initiation. You don't want to stay there too long, but she

:21:11. > :21:12.has broken well away from that. And Makarova on serve now with the new

:21:13. > :23:39.balls. Doing a good job battling against

:23:40. > :23:47.the wind as she levels up. Konta is certainly the favourite

:23:48. > :23:53.going into this match-up. It is worth remembering this is her

:23:54. > :23:55.seventh quarter final here. She has a reputation in Eastbourne as well

:23:56. > :24:27.as being the champion six years ago. She is such a tidy player, Makarova.

:24:28. > :24:32.She won this tournament six years ago as a qualifier. Just looking at

:24:33. > :24:41.some of the names she beat on her way to the title - t Peneta and

:24:42. > :24:44.Azarenka in the final. No wonder she keeps coming back here

:24:45. > :25:16.every year. Very good at changing play of

:25:17. > :25:20.direction, Makarova. Using the line off both wings.

:25:21. > :25:51.Such a flat strike too. These two are playing right to the

:25:52. > :25:57.lines. Both are rather weary of dropping anything short. A good game

:25:58. > :25:59.from the Russian: She has three chances to break Konta for the

:26:00. > :27:27.second time in this opening set. Really nice.

:27:28. > :27:34.Makarova, back on top and will zer for this opening set.

:27:35. > :27:37.-- serve. A great recovery from Makarova in

:27:38. > :27:50.the last few games. We are going to get a chance to

:27:51. > :27:56.listen to Jo's coach. Let's hope Mr Director will send him

:27:57. > :27:57.our way. I am not sure if he's actually got his microphone on at

:27:58. > :28:13.the moment. We cannot be evaluating everything

:28:14. > :28:22.from here. Every ball we miss, or every point that we lose. OK. Other

:28:23. > :28:26.than that, which is the most important thing... I want you to

:28:27. > :28:36.work on. That let's beat bigger targets to start to feel more solid.

:28:37. > :28:43.Well t conditions are an issue. We have a lot of wind. Let's stay with

:28:44. > :28:47.the same game plan with bigger targets. Stay to the mid-we go

:28:48. > :28:51.there. It has been difficult for both of you. Stay tough, please.

:28:52. > :29:04.Feel how hard you are working and beat your target.

:29:05. > :29:08.Very impressive. He travels with her quite a few weeks of the year and

:29:09. > :29:10.makes an awful lot of sense, but right now, it is Makarova to serve

:29:11. > :29:58.for this first set. There is nothing you can do about

:29:59. > :30:02.that. Hits it so flat, doesn't she? She

:30:03. > :30:28.will always get a few off the tape. The backhand is very much Konta's

:30:29. > :30:32.favoured shot. When she's got time to lean into it, it really is

:30:33. > :31:08.effective. Not easy for either player to

:31:09. > :31:16.control it in this wind. Things have changed very quickly. Konta with two

:31:17. > :31:34.chances for the immediate break back.

:31:35. > :31:55.I am sure we will get another look at that point because the ball was

:31:56. > :32:00.moving right away from her and I am sure she was worried about touching

:32:01. > :32:06.the net. It was an awkward shot but to miss it by that distance is

:32:07. > :32:07.something else. Not one for the highlight reel. All square in the

:32:08. > :33:02.first set. Only just over 100 mph but perfect

:33:03. > :33:19.position with plenty of work and slice on it.

:33:20. > :34:09.She doesn't miss mid-court backhands, Makarova.

:34:10. > :34:19.Makarova has been a wonderful player for a long time. Her mum is on the

:34:20. > :34:24.right. As a shawl with her just in case it turns chilly later. Well

:34:25. > :35:09.done. The perfect 1-2 four Konta. Konta making Makarova paper not

:35:10. > :35:16.serving out this set. Some big serving from Konta to get herself

:35:17. > :35:19.out of trouble. You use to practice with her at the National tennis

:35:20. > :35:24.Centre in Roehampton for a number of years. What was it like trying to

:35:25. > :35:29.return that serve? It has always been good but what makes it really

:35:30. > :35:33.good is the disguise on it. It is a consistent old toss so you are never

:35:34. > :35:39.quite sure what type of serve you are going to get, the slice, the

:35:40. > :35:44.flat one or the kicker. She uses all of them and uses her height to get

:35:45. > :35:51.up to it incredibly well. The second serve? A lot of people are starting

:35:52. > :35:57.to really talk about this second serve and how tough it is. It is

:35:58. > :36:02.because she can use the kicker incredibly well, particular on the

:36:03. > :36:05.ad side. She has the ability to change it up well. She uses her

:36:06. > :36:20.height to maximum effect. Her serve has always been a weapon

:36:21. > :36:40.but it is much better these days. She didn't start this quarterfinal

:36:41. > :36:42.territory well but goodness me she has picked it up. Makarova now

:36:43. > :38:01.serving to stay in this first set. The variety in Konta's game is also

:38:02. > :38:40.notable. Her willingness to change up the pace and the spin.

:38:41. > :38:47.She has to aim through the centre of the court when she his pushed that

:38:48. > :38:52.far out wide and under pressure. Both ends with different sets of

:38:53. > :39:10.problems. Makarova with a chance now to take this into the tie-break.

:39:11. > :39:32.Great reset from the Russian. I am not sure if a Rover has been

:39:33. > :39:36.allergic to tie-breaks this year but has not had many. Konta has had a

:39:37. > :40:11.very good record in them. Makarova just too tentative with

:40:12. > :41:34.this Molly, did not stick it enough and it sat up nicely for Konta.

:41:35. > :41:43.The favourite shot. Why is this backhand so good? She uses her left

:41:44. > :41:49.hand so well. When she gets behind the ball and her body weight through

:41:50. > :42:27.the shot, she stays through so well. It is just a natural swing for her.

:42:28. > :42:39.Great hustle. The mini-breaks not out. She is playing an experienced

:42:40. > :43:54.campaigner in Makarova. It really is an afternoon for

:43:55. > :44:02.industrial strength hairspray. It is moving all over the place and Konta

:44:03. > :44:08.needs to regroup here. A rather introverted character on court,

:44:09. > :44:18.Ekaterina Makarova. A lovely personality and easy off court.

:44:19. > :44:21.Sometimes it has held her back with her results, not always backing

:44:22. > :44:34.herself. We will see what she can do from here.

:44:35. > :44:49.Fantastic return from Konta. Had the depth and pace. There are light

:44:50. > :45:33.brown patches on the court. If you hit that, the ball shoots through.

:45:34. > :46:11.Got to keep going after it with her backhand.

:46:12. > :46:32.Yeah. Good second serve from Konta, straight into the body of Makarova.

:46:33. > :46:37.This is what every one has been talking about, how great this second

:46:38. > :47:27.serve is from Konta. She looks back in the driving seat here.

:47:28. > :47:47.APPLAUSE Clever.

:47:48. > :47:56.Such clear thinking from the British number one. She might make the Rover

:47:57. > :47:58.pay for not serving out this first set. She now has a chance to close

:47:59. > :48:09.it. That will do very nicely! And it is

:48:10. > :48:14.Konta who wins the first set breaker by seven points to five.

:48:15. > :48:19.STUDIO Well, what a great set of tennis.

:48:20. > :48:30.Nip and tuck, going this way and that. Eventually going to the con

:48:31. > :48:35.to's way. If you stayed up all night to watch David Dimbleby's brilliant

:48:36. > :48:40.tour de force, unbelievable, spellbinding television. You may be

:48:41. > :48:45.flagging a bit. If you want more EU referendum debate, it was going to

:48:46. > :48:48.be on BBC Two but it's now been moved to BBC One at 2pm this

:48:49. > :49:02.afternoon, so we can stay with Jo Konta. If you want to watch Jo

:49:03. > :49:06.Konta, stay here. For all the attention on Jo at the moment, Andy

:49:07. > :49:09.Murray is going to be the focus of so much attention. Without getting

:49:10. > :49:13.ahead of ourselves, if you want to know what kind of a draw he's got,

:49:14. > :49:18.having not played a British athlete for ten years since Tim Henman in

:49:19. > :49:22.2006 committee ended up playing Aljaz Bedene and then Kyle Edmund at

:49:23. > :49:32.Queen's. He's got Liam Broady in the first round, then Lu of Taipei,

:49:33. > :49:34.Benoit Paire after that, Nick Kyrgios, that is where it starts

:49:35. > :49:40.getting serious, and then it's basically a repeat of Roland Garros.

:49:41. > :49:44.He would have Richard Gasquet potentially in the quarterfinal,

:49:45. > :49:47.Stan Wawrinka in the semifinal and perhaps inevitably Novak Djokovic in

:49:48. > :49:56.the final, who is aiming to win his fifth Grand Slam title in a row.

:49:57. > :49:57.Europe is 68 miles away from Eastbourne, but every day it gets

:49:58. > :50:07.further. COMMENTATOR: Jo Konta will be seeded

:50:08. > :50:16.16th at Wimbledon which means she will be in the posh bit upstairs and

:50:17. > :50:20.she will not play a player ranked higher than herself until she gets

:50:21. > :50:27.to the fourth round if she gets there, she would blame Monica Puig,

:50:28. > :50:30.but right now lots of work to do, Ekaterina Makarova is a tough

:50:31. > :50:32.campaign and the Russian will kick off this second set. -- she would

:50:33. > :52:14.play Monica Puig. Well, Makarova not using the change

:52:15. > :52:29.of ends very well. Konta with chances to pounce here.

:52:30. > :52:44.Oh dear. The Russian has gone completely awry. I certainly

:52:45. > :52:54.didn't expect that, did you? No, I thought Makarova, with her

:52:55. > :53:00.experience, would have done a better job regrouping at the end of that

:53:01. > :53:11.first set. She can only really blame herself. In the tie-break at 5-4.

:53:12. > :53:15.The Demons will be wandering around in her mind somewhere. This is

:53:16. > :53:24.someone who has been a Grand Slam finalist at the US Open and

:53:25. > :53:27.Austrlian Open. Jo has been a Grand Slam finalist acrobatic spaced

:53:28. > :53:30.semifinalist now, making her more than a match.

:53:31. > :53:39.-- has been eight grand slam semifinalist. It has been a

:53:40. > :53:44.completely different Konta to what we saw a couple of days ago when she

:53:45. > :53:48.played her opener. When she played that Madge, she was tight as a drum

:53:49. > :54:13.and you could see the tension in her face. -- that match.

:54:14. > :54:30.Don't write Makarova off just yet. There will still be a view shots

:54:31. > :55:33.across the bow, particularly if she feels she has nothing more to lose.

:55:34. > :55:44.The Russians still with a future ex-of her own. She's a more

:55:45. > :55:46.confident player the doubles court. A couple of chances here to get the

:55:47. > :56:20.immediate break back. Oh dear. A couple of doubles in the

:56:21. > :56:29.game, I'm afraid. The initiative and momentum coming out of that breaker

:56:30. > :56:36.very swiftly dampened down. Not entirely sure what happened there.

:56:37. > :56:40.Well, it's been like this for the majority of the match in terms of

:56:41. > :56:53.the wind, and she just allowed it to affect her, there.

:56:54. > :56:56.All these constant adjustments that need to be made on court in these

:56:57. > :57:52.conditions. No. She's trying to give it a bit

:57:53. > :58:00.more from that end, Konta. She is up against the wind. Not easy. You've

:58:01. > :58:09.got to be comfortable being uncomfortable out here.

:58:10. > :58:26.That's a good response from Makarova. And she moves ahead in the

:58:27. > :58:31.second set. How much do you think it affected her, being part of this

:58:32. > :58:35.golden age of Russian tennis when there were so many superstars around

:58:36. > :58:42.her? I think she's benefited from it. Naturally she is a very shy

:58:43. > :58:47.person and not someone who likes to be in the spotlight, very

:58:48. > :58:51.introverted. But she's been surrounded by so much class and

:58:52. > :58:56.she's been able to learn from the very best, so I think she has been

:58:57. > :59:04.in a privileged position throughout her career. Getting some help in

:59:05. > :59:18.recent years from former French Open champion

:59:19. > :59:29.Anastasia Myskina. When a lot of those players retired having babies

:59:30. > :59:34.or whatever, she made it into the top ten. "OK, It's my turn now".

:59:35. > :59:38.She's always had the talent and the ability but I think she's lacked the

:59:39. > :59:43.belief. It was only last year she was able to crack the world's top

:59:44. > :59:46.ten for the very first time, and it was a long time coming. Because she

:59:47. > :59:51.had always been capable of causing the odd upsets, someone who has in

:59:52. > :59:57.the past beaten Venus and Serena Williams. She was always a dangerous

:59:58. > :00:02.player to draw. And she still can be. She would love another

:00:03. > :00:06.Eastbourne title. She has only won two titles in her career. One of

:00:07. > :02:54.them here six years ago. That is a positive message from

:02:55. > :03:13.Konta. She has played that pattern of play

:03:14. > :03:14.so well in that match will stop the server out wide and the next shot

:03:15. > :04:10.into space. I am not sure that forehand line

:04:11. > :04:14.from that part of the chord with the wind direction is removed Leon. You

:04:15. > :04:15.would almost half to hit the ball cross-court to get it anywhere down

:04:16. > :05:13.that tram. Wow! How good was that? You cannot

:05:14. > :05:25.find an angle better than that of the return. That is world-class.

:05:26. > :05:37.It is long. Konta is going to make a move here. Great treasure from the

:05:38. > :05:43.British number one in front of a packed house, another sell-out. This

:05:44. > :05:49.is some tournament, right from the first rounds, the stands have been

:05:50. > :05:50.full. For a women's tournament, pretty special. And so is Konta this

:05:51. > :06:44.week. Well done. Makarova 's turn to go

:06:45. > :06:48.strong into the spaces. At no stage in this match so far has she lost

:06:49. > :06:49.her head. She can get quite emotional out there, down on

:06:50. > :07:47.herself. Yes, she does fret. There are a few

:07:48. > :07:51.players like that. They sit in way of stressing on a tennis court. -- a

:07:52. > :08:31.certain way. Makarova battling hard, coming

:08:32. > :08:33.through the longest game in the match so far. Nudges ahead in this

:08:34. > :08:46.second set. What is happening with Russian

:08:47. > :08:49.tennis these days, after this wonderful golden age we were talking

:08:50. > :08:56.about? Plenty of young players coming through. There is one in

:08:57. > :09:00.particular who has a bright future ahead of her. We should not worry

:09:01. > :09:05.too much about Russian tennis. I think they are doing just fine. With

:09:06. > :09:14.or without Maria Sharapova. I get the feeling though that there are

:09:15. > :09:24.not so many training in Russia. There are those two big clubs where

:09:25. > :09:29.those from the past all train. Whenever you speak to them these

:09:30. > :09:34.days, they are training in Holland or Slovakia or out in the United

:09:35. > :09:40.States. There are just so many academies around the world. You can

:09:41. > :09:44.take your pick and to be honest, it is wherever the money is, whoever is

:09:45. > :09:49.prepared to sponsor them, that is where they will go, that is where

:09:50. > :09:53.they will train and use as their base and whatever works, there is no

:09:54. > :09:58.right or wrong. And now they know that Spartak with its one indoor

:09:59. > :10:04.court without any heating is not maybe the finest place to train.

:10:05. > :10:07.Spain with it's all year round sun and clay courts may be a better

:10:08. > :10:10.option and it is a better option. It is very expensive to play tennis in

:10:11. > :11:26.Moscow now. They take other options. Coach and agent knowing that this is

:11:27. > :11:45.a pivotal games here. There is no doubt the coaching

:11:46. > :11:53.switch up that Konta made a couple of years ago, it is really working

:11:54. > :11:57.well. A great job coming on for the on court coaching just before the

:11:58. > :12:35.end of that first set, when she was down 5-4.

:12:36. > :12:45.Konta has shown trust and loyalty. You have had a couple of chats with

:12:46. > :12:49.him and you are impressed. I like what I have heard from him. She has

:12:50. > :12:52.known him for a number of years. He used to work in an academy in Texas.

:12:53. > :13:13.And that is where they first met. Coolly done by Konta. Don't forget,

:13:14. > :13:17.12 months ago when she played Makarova, she would be swinging with

:13:18. > :13:24.no pressure. A very different scenario today. Against someone

:13:25. > :14:00.ranked 20 spots below her. That body serve is a smart one for

:14:01. > :14:02.Makarova to use, especially when it goes into that right hip of Konta

:14:03. > :14:32.'s. Alternatively, serve an ace. A clean game from Makarova. She is

:14:33. > :15:10.still going to be a threat in this second set.

:15:11. > :15:17.Very different expectations and workload on Johanna Konta these

:15:18. > :15:25.days. When the rain was torrential earlier this week, she had to do

:15:26. > :15:30.part of the launch for the new ?44 million redevelopment of the

:15:31. > :15:36.partnership between Eastbourne Borough Council and the LTA and a

:15:37. > :15:40.commitment now for ten more years of the tournament being here and

:15:41. > :15:46.improved facilities. She did that in the morning and then she had what

:15:47. > :15:51.was an all access our. The press can ask anything they want, it is a

:15:52. > :15:56.pretty relaxed setting, all on the sofas at the media centre. Did very

:15:57. > :16:00.well, handled everything. A few tricky questions thrown in. And then

:16:01. > :16:03.had to go along the line for all the different interviews for all the

:16:04. > :16:08.different networks and spent four or five hours on media duties on Monday

:16:09. > :16:10.but that is gone to be her life now if she is good to be a top 20 and

:16:11. > :16:35.maybe even a top ten player. Still something she is learning to

:16:36. > :16:44.manage and balance between obviously all the training she wants to do to

:16:45. > :16:59.maintain her level and the off court commitments.

:17:00. > :17:07.And as little as she has wanted to give away, it has taken its toll.

:17:08. > :17:44.Understandably. It is all sort of new for her.

:17:45. > :18:05.Huge serving from Konta. Can she make it four in the game?

:18:06. > :18:27.Take that. Pressure right back thrown right back at Makarova. A

:18:28. > :19:10.serving masterclass right there. Both players have tried using that

:19:11. > :19:14.upshot whenever they can. Konta more so. It is something you do not see

:19:15. > :19:17.enough of on the grass court. You see at a lot on the clay but it is

:19:18. > :19:24.just as effective on the RAS. The front of the court is so much more

:19:25. > :19:54.lush. And if you get it right, it just dies at the front of the court.

:19:55. > :20:22.Makarova feeling rather under the cosh here at Love- 30.

:20:23. > :20:27.For a split second, they both thought that return was gone to

:20:28. > :20:33.drift long but bang on the line it was.

:20:34. > :21:09.It is wide and it is a fabulous push from Konta. And she will now serve

:21:10. > :21:18.for a place in the semifinals. Well, she was so impressive against Petra

:21:19. > :21:22.Kvitova. When you watch top players, you think you are going OK with them

:21:23. > :21:26.and all of a sudden, they rack up the intensity and it is game over. I

:21:27. > :21:32.feel like we have just seen that from John Kaunda in the last couple

:21:33. > :21:36.of games. Yes, right there. And you could just see Makarova tightening

:21:37. > :21:43.up. She knew it was a big Jane and was not able to come up with the

:21:44. > :21:50.goods and that is the confidence in Konta now, the belief. She trusts

:21:51. > :21:56.her tennis, she trusts her game. And in moments like that, she is able to

:21:57. > :22:00.rise to the challenge. It is interesting how she talks about her

:22:01. > :22:05.career. Only 25 years of age but she talks of it as a 17 year career,

:22:06. > :22:13.that everything has been working towards this moment, initial

:22:14. > :22:17.training when she grew up in Sydney in Australia, and practising in

:22:18. > :22:23.Melbourne with tennis Australia and then the move to the Academy at 14

:22:24. > :22:30.in Spain and then parents moving to London. It is an extraordinary

:22:31. > :22:44.journey she has been on. Summary sacrifices made by so many. -- so

:22:45. > :23:58.many sacrifices made. Now, can she close here?

:23:59. > :24:02.Well, she is human on that serve after all. Really does go for it

:24:03. > :24:50.though. Well, she has battled the elements

:24:51. > :24:55.once again here at Eastbourne, she has battled Makarova and she has two

:24:56. > :25:25.match points. That is wide and Konta has done it

:25:26. > :25:33.again. Well, it was another fantastic performance from Britain's

:25:34. > :25:36.number one, Johanna Konta. Emotionally, she did not waver. She

:25:37. > :25:46.was able to raise her level when it really mattered and she is looking

:25:47. > :25:50.more and more like she belongs. Did so well after a slightly shaky

:25:51. > :25:56.start, being broken in her opening service game. And it is a third win

:25:57. > :26:00.over Ekaterina Makarova, backing up the one from last year and the

:26:01. > :26:06.battle they had in Melbourne in January. But never one to over

:26:07. > :26:10.celebrate. She is resetting. She will have another much later on

:26:11. > :26:17.against one of the biggest servers in women's tennis. The exciting

:26:18. > :26:26.young Czech, Pliskova. Our semifinal line-up will be complete. Later on,

:26:27. > :26:35.the one that everyone will be staying for, Pliskova against

:26:36. > :26:44.Britain's number one, Konta. What a week she is having in the warm up to

:26:45. > :26:47.Wimbledon. Delightful performance from Konta. There were a few bumps

:26:48. > :26:52.on the road but she dealt with everything, took it all in her

:26:53. > :26:59.stride. She is always great to hear from and here she is courtside.

:27:00. > :27:06.Well played. What a victory. You are in the semifinal in your hometown.

:27:07. > :27:12.How does that feel? That is how that feels! Oh, my goodness. Had you so

:27:13. > :27:17.much everybody for making so much noise and I am happy I get to come

:27:18. > :27:24.back again later today to play in front of you guys and give you

:27:25. > :27:28.another good match. Your semiformal appointment #colourcyan opponent

:27:29. > :27:36.will be Pliskova. What is your thoughts on that Qusair Mark it will

:27:37. > :27:41.be bloody turf. Hopefully I will be able to play the best that I can

:27:42. > :27:45.today and compete well. Twice in one day. How tough is that question mark

:27:46. > :27:52.it is not as bad as you think. The adrenaline keeps you going. We will

:27:53. > :27:59.look forward to seeing you again shortly. Ladies and gentlemen,

:28:00. > :28:03.Johanna Konta. Well, she really is a great competitor. Don't bet against

:28:04. > :28:08.her winning another match later on today and being in our final here

:28:09. > :28:12.tomorrow. It seems like days ago now but on that first afternoon of the

:28:13. > :28:16.championship we said that there had only ever been one British winner of

:28:17. > :28:21.this event. We are getting ahead of ourselves but that was Virginia Wade

:28:22. > :28:26.in 1975. Konta is one match away from playing in a final. In that

:28:27. > :28:29.semifinal she will play the young Czech Pliskova, who has got a huge

:28:30. > :28:40.serve and she won in straight sets earlier today against Vesnina. And

:28:41. > :28:43.that was a match that was held over from yesterday and was pretty

:28:44. > :28:45.one-sided today when they were eventually able to complete that

:28:46. > :28:51.game and the other match that took race earlier today at was held over

:28:52. > :28:57.from yesterday was an absolutely fantastic game of tennis. It really

:28:58. > :29:04.was. Three sets, over three hours, between Radwanska and Cibulkova. The

:29:05. > :29:10.diminutive Slovak with the big voice and the big heart and the two

:29:11. > :29:20.Yorkshire terriers is through to a semifinal against Monica Puig. If

:29:21. > :29:30.Konta is an adult book competitor, so is she. -- after that match, she

:29:31. > :29:39.was a brilliant in her interview. Congratulations. A big win for you.

:29:40. > :29:47.How do you assess the way that you played? Today, we have played some

:29:48. > :29:50.matches and this was the first on grass. It was really difficult with

:29:51. > :29:57.the conditions and with everything but I was able to manage to play

:29:58. > :30:04.better with every game, with every rest, I came back stronger and that

:30:05. > :30:09.is why I was happy today. I was really happy the weather forecast

:30:10. > :30:14.looked good but it was the same for yesterday. I was really happy when I

:30:15. > :30:18.saw the blue sky today. You have got to come back later and play your

:30:19. > :30:22.semifinal. Monica Puig is your opponent. What are your thoughts on

:30:23. > :30:26.that one? It is good to be a game really difficult. We played a long

:30:27. > :30:30.match yesterday and today. I will do everything to be 100% ready for

:30:31. > :30:37.today and to manage to be on the court ready. We will let you go and

:30:38. > :30:43.prepare. Ladies and gentlemen, Cibulkova.

:30:44. > :30:53.And then there were four. The next match the works like this.

:30:54. > :30:59.-- the line-up for the semifinals looks like this. There's also

:31:00. > :31:03.another match taking place today which is a celebrity match between

:31:04. > :31:13.the stars of yesteryear, and there is one of them who's going to be

:31:14. > :31:26.taking part in it. Jana Novotna will be playing in the Aegon Legends

:31:27. > :31:30.Exhibition. She reminisced about being at Eastbourne for the first

:31:31. > :31:35.time in a long time. It's been a few years since I've been here and it

:31:36. > :31:40.brings back a lot of good memories. Very excited to be here especially

:31:41. > :31:43.on a day like today. What do your member, the matches, the people? I

:31:44. > :31:48.remember everything. It was always the highlight of my year, to come

:31:49. > :31:56.here to Eastbourne and to have the best preparation before Wimbledon.

:31:57. > :32:00.It took me a long time to win this tournament but when I finally did I

:32:01. > :32:09.followed it up with winning Wimbledon. It's a walk comfortable

:32:10. > :32:17.place walking distance from the hotel. People can get close to you.

:32:18. > :32:21.I remember when the Henman family was running this tournament, they

:32:22. > :32:32.made it very special. What about the people who you played with, your

:32:33. > :32:38.great rivals, the Arrantxas of this world. Do those friendships into

:32:39. > :32:42.your? -- do those friendships endure? It is difficult to be

:32:43. > :32:45.friends with those people who you are competing with every week for

:32:46. > :32:51.titles and prize money and all that, but I think we were very competitive

:32:52. > :32:55.and of course once you're finished with your career everything almost

:32:56. > :33:00.changes and you just naturally become friends. It's nice to see the

:33:01. > :33:08.players on events like we have here today. When you play in Legends

:33:09. > :33:16.events, do you say, "Remember that time I beat you 6-1, 6-2?"

:33:17. > :33:20.Absolutely, we talk about past matches and competitions and however

:33:21. > :33:24.thing was. It's really nice, everyone is much more relaxed and

:33:25. > :33:27.just happy to be out there. Everyone is still involved in tennis and I

:33:28. > :33:34.enjoy that. Every generation is obviously different and when we were

:33:35. > :33:37.at Queen's last week I was talking to write about what tennis is like

:33:38. > :33:41.in the 50s and 60s and the players who played in the 80s were laughing

:33:42. > :33:46.about what he was saying. The players from the 80s, when they were

:33:47. > :33:48.talking about what tennis was like, the people who play now were

:33:49. > :33:53.laughing at them! How different do you think the sport is now to when

:33:54. > :33:58.you played? Everything is different. It has changed. It's more about

:33:59. > :34:03.physical preparation and abilities more than a tactical view of tennis.

:34:04. > :34:08.It's almost like a team sport right now. Every player travels with a

:34:09. > :34:15.team of people taking care of them. In my time it was only a tennis

:34:16. > :34:21.court and they were the most important person in your life and

:34:22. > :34:26.your career. Everything has changed, not always for better. I think there

:34:27. > :34:31.was more personalities in the 80s and 90s. But I look at it in the way

:34:32. > :34:34.that every generation picks something new, something different.

:34:35. > :34:39.We cannot always have everything from the past. Tennis is moving

:34:40. > :34:47.forward, it's all about equipment, speed, power. If we're talking about

:34:48. > :34:52.power and this generation, this has been the Serena generation. Do you

:34:53. > :34:57.think she can still win two or three or four more grand slams to beat

:34:58. > :35:00.Margaret Court's total? I think she can. She's very focused and as long

:35:01. > :35:05.as she stays healthy and fit and mentally strong like she was last

:35:06. > :35:09.year, of course she can keep on going. It's almost the trend now,

:35:10. > :35:13.you played your best tennis after 30 because it all comes together for

:35:14. > :35:20.you, not only for women but for men as well. If they can stay in good

:35:21. > :35:23.shape and they can keep up with is it physically and mentally, of

:35:24. > :35:28.course she can do it. If she doesn't win Wimbledon, who do you think

:35:29. > :35:31.might upset her this year? I don't know, women's tennis is so

:35:32. > :35:34.unpredictable. Every time I look at the draw at the beginning of the

:35:35. > :35:39.tournament and you look at a few days later, so many players get

:35:40. > :35:42.eliminated in the top grounds. That's how it's always been. I think

:35:43. > :35:46.the top players are the most vulnerable in the first few rounds.

:35:47. > :35:54.Women's tennis is so unpredictable. People ask me, Jana, who is going to

:35:55. > :35:57.win it, who is going to be in the semifinals? And being at the

:35:58. > :36:00.tournaments myself, I have such a hard time predicting it. I guess

:36:01. > :36:04.that makes it interesting but at the same time it's tough for spectators

:36:05. > :36:07.to really get to know players because they are in and out all the

:36:08. > :36:12.time. It's certainly nothing like it used to be where the same eight

:36:13. > :36:15.players always got to the quarterfinals and then you could

:36:16. > :36:19.kind of pick and choose who was better on the day. Nowadays tennis

:36:20. > :36:26.is very unpredictable. But I expect Serena to do well again. Grass is

:36:27. > :36:32.her favourite surface, Wimbledon as well. Talking about someone who was

:36:33. > :36:38.very rarely opened his prizes, Martina Navratilova. We have a big

:36:39. > :36:45.BBC documentary about her and her upbringing. Hers is an extraordinary

:36:46. > :36:49.story. Do you think she is probably, possibly, the greatest woman player

:36:50. > :36:54.of all-time? Absolutely, absolutely every time we say there is someone

:36:55. > :36:59.else who is coming up and can do even better and even better... But

:37:00. > :37:04.Martina was come for me, the most powerful and the most memorable

:37:05. > :37:08.person of all time, really. She was a pioneer in many things in tennis.

:37:09. > :37:13.The way she brought the physical fitness into women's tennis, I think

:37:14. > :37:17.she was the first one and after that, from then on, it kind of

:37:18. > :37:22.became all about fitness and getting fit and taking women's tennis to

:37:23. > :37:25.another level. So she is really an icon and the most recognisable

:37:26. > :37:31.person in women's tennis and she always will be. Great to have you

:37:32. > :37:36.back here at Eastbourne. You're welcome every year. Thank you.

:37:37. > :37:40.Everyone who comes in here today is getting free strawberries and cream

:37:41. > :37:42.when they come in, did you not get yours? I didn't but I'm sure it's

:37:43. > :37:55.waiting for me after my match! For all the sense of fun, this was a

:37:56. > :37:59.childhood spent in post-2nd a Czechoslovakia. Europe behind the

:38:00. > :38:03.Iron Curtain. Growing up in a communist country, you just kind of

:38:04. > :38:08.did whatever it took. You told a bad political joke and he would go to

:38:09. > :38:12.jail. At my childhood, up until I left, 18, I had a fantastic life

:38:13. > :38:17.here. In the summer we swam in the river and in the winter we skated on

:38:18. > :38:22.it, climbed peoples fences and stole that cherries and walnuts! They were

:38:23. > :38:36.very expensive, they were more expensive per pound and kilo than

:38:37. > :38:39.the best meat. She was just a very bouncy, happy child with exceptional

:38:40. > :38:43.physical capabilities. We went to the river and this little girl took

:38:44. > :38:49.a pebble and she threw it as far as we could! We said wow, this is quite

:38:50. > :38:54.amazing! My uncle was quite a tennis player and she said -- he said she

:38:55. > :38:58.quite amazing, we've not seen anything like that. He said she's

:38:59. > :39:03.going to win Wimbledon before she's 20! He relieved on her. My mum was a

:39:04. > :39:08.great athlete, she could have done anything she wanted to. She played

:39:09. > :39:13.volleyball, she ran track. She was a great tennis player. But she

:39:14. > :39:20.believed in me and it was like, OK, here I come, I was like ten!

:39:21. > :39:27.Great story. Martina is part of our all-star cast at Wimbledon, starting

:39:28. > :39:30.on Monday, which includes our new signings, Lleyton Hewitt and Jim

:39:31. > :39:34.Courier. There are players out on court at the moment for the first of

:39:35. > :39:37.the semifinals. This will be Dominika Cibulkova against Monica

:39:38. > :39:44.Puig. He spoke to us a couple of days ago. I'm trying to work out

:39:45. > :39:47.what the time zone is. It's nine o'clock in the morning, it's

:39:48. > :40:01.breakfast in Puerto Rico. They will be watching her in action.

:40:02. > :40:16.When I started playing tennis, a lot of people were asking me, where is

:40:17. > :40:20.Puerto Rico? Where is it on the map? A lot of people used to confuse the

:40:21. > :40:24.name with Portugal or Paraguay. But it's nice now when I go around the

:40:25. > :40:29.tennis world, people know where Puerto Rico is. I'm really proud

:40:30. > :40:33.that I've given a name for my island on this level of sport. When you go

:40:34. > :40:38.back there, do they claim you as one of theirs? Yeah, they take a lot of

:40:39. > :40:42.pride in their athletes. They are also very proud of all our

:40:43. > :40:50.accomplishments, whether they are small or large. I always feel quite

:40:51. > :40:54.at home when I go back and I have a huge amount of respect for all other

:40:55. > :40:58.people in Puerto Rico. You spend most of your life in America. Do you

:40:59. > :41:04.almost have dual nationality now or not? Puerto Rico is actually a US

:41:05. > :41:09.territory, so we have the same currency and a US passport, but I

:41:10. > :41:10.consider myself 100% Puerto Rico on. I'm really proud of where I come

:41:11. > :41:26.from. My coach is from Argentina and my

:41:27. > :41:30.fitness trainer is also from Argentina, but my physio is actually

:41:31. > :41:35.French, but he does speak Spanish. A lot of Spanish going on there which

:41:36. > :41:40.also helps me keep my roots with the Spanish up. I really like it and

:41:41. > :41:44.sometimes I get a little bit tired of speaking English! There's also a

:41:45. > :41:48.great debate about whether coaches should be allowed on court. Are you

:41:49. > :41:53.in favour of that? I think it helps in a way. Tennis is a very

:41:54. > :42:00.individual sport but it makes the match is a little more interesting.

:42:01. > :42:04.It helps, having your coach there to help guide you a bit when you need

:42:05. > :42:09.it the most. I usually try and call my coach out when I need some

:42:10. > :42:14.positive reinforcement or if I really don't know what's going on. I

:42:15. > :42:18.just really like the communication I have with my coach. Final point,

:42:19. > :42:22.you're playing really well at the moment and you must be feeling

:42:23. > :42:25.really good. You win qualifying and you win or the firing again, you

:42:26. > :42:31.just keep on going. Do you feel you're on a real role at the moment?

:42:32. > :42:34.Yeah, I feel this year has gone uphill in general. Irony proud of

:42:35. > :42:39.myself for having come out of a pretty sloppy year last year and

:42:40. > :42:42.being able to come into my own and find myself physically and mentally,

:42:43. > :42:46.how there. I'm just enjoying myself at the moment and really happy with

:42:47. > :42:49.everything I've accomplished so far. I think it's definitely helping me

:42:50. > :42:53.win more matches and just having fun.

:42:54. > :43:14.STUDIO , there she is going through her

:43:15. > :43:18.warm up. We've had a lot of really high 3-set matches here at this

:43:19. > :43:23.championship this week. Now that the weather has completely relented and

:43:24. > :43:27.Eastbourne is looking absolutely magnificent this afternoon, let's

:43:28. > :43:30.hope we have some matches that are in keeping with the weather. This

:43:31. > :43:35.promises to be a really good in counter. Worth reminding you that Jo

:43:36. > :43:41.Konta's semifinal will follow this match. We're expected to be with you

:43:42. > :43:45.here on BBC Two until 6pm, but obviously we will make sure we're

:43:46. > :43:53.with Jo Konta all the way through to the end of that match. Anyway, for

:43:54. > :43:58.the moment this is the first of the semifinals of the Aegon

:43:59. > :44:02.International for 2016. Back to Anne Keothavong and Sam Smith.

:44:03. > :44:11.COMMENTATOR: There is almost a lull here, some fans having a time-out

:44:12. > :44:16.after the Jo Konta match but I'm sure they will be back in very

:44:17. > :44:20.shortly to watch two of the most likeable performers on the tour in

:44:21. > :44:48.this semifinal. Is it really does feel very strange

:44:49. > :44:55.sitting here, having already seen Dominika this morning, coming back

:44:56. > :45:02.from a set and 3-1 down, 3-2 on the restart, against the top seed and

:45:03. > :45:11.former champion Agnieszka Radwanska. Making her second appearance here at

:45:12. > :45:17.Devonshire Park. Puig had a very different Thursday. Played first up

:45:18. > :45:22.and played very well against Kristina Mladenovic on her debut

:45:23. > :45:24.here. You can put your feet up for the rest of the day and watch

:45:25. > :45:34.everyone else pays around, waiting to play.

:45:35. > :45:44.Yes, she worked her way through the qualifying rounds. She is 22, full

:45:45. > :45:55.of beans and having a great week here.

:45:56. > :46:05.What is Cibulkova facing here? A player who is similar to herself in

:46:06. > :46:10.many ways. Someone who has very big strikes from the back of the court.

:46:11. > :46:12.It will be a battle between these two as to who gets the first big

:46:13. > :46:27.strike in. Both women out here have fantastic

:46:28. > :46:32.attitudes towards their tennis, they really backed themselves. Highly

:46:33. > :46:43.competitive. You give Cibulkova the edge when it

:46:44. > :46:46.comes to energy, she is just a bundle of energy. She won't be fazed

:46:47. > :46:52.about the fact that she played a match earlier today. I don't think

:46:53. > :46:56.it would have taken too much out of her physically coming into this

:46:57. > :47:05.match. Fitness never really an issue for the Slovak.

:47:06. > :47:20.Had a draining day yesterday, didn't she, on and off against Radwanska.

:47:21. > :47:25.They didn't cancel the match until 7pm yesterday evening. She was out

:47:26. > :47:27.here yesterday evening but now the wind has really got up and I just

:47:28. > :48:31.wonder how she will handle it. APPLAUSE

:48:32. > :48:40.So, Cibulkova safely through that opening service game. I should

:48:41. > :48:48.mention it's a first meeting between these two. Even though Puig is a

:48:49. > :48:53.qualifier, she's not exactly a slouch in terms of the ranking, it's

:48:54. > :48:56.just a very strong draw here. Ranked 43 in the world and 20 on the

:48:57. > :49:03.ranking list compiled from tournaments this year. Cibulkova

:49:04. > :49:10.down at 21, a former top ten player, making her way very much back up the

:49:11. > :49:12.rankings after an injury break. Puig, top junior in her time. Very

:49:13. > :50:57.dangerous in this semifinal. APPLAUSE

:50:58. > :51:05.Well, she has certainly picked up where she left off. She's just got a

:51:06. > :51:11.naturally aggressive mindset on the tennis court. Always looking to

:51:12. > :51:12.pounce on everything, take the ball on the rise, constantly take time

:51:13. > :51:28.away from her opponent. And I think Cibulkova will enjoy

:51:29. > :51:34.this match a lot more than she did against Radwanska stop she won't

:51:35. > :51:40.have too generic as much pace herself, because Puig hits a really

:51:41. > :51:44.heavy shot. There are some match-ups you like and some you would rather

:51:45. > :51:49.steer well clear of. Puig in a spot, here.

:51:50. > :52:00.Is a lot of grass court tennis over the last few weeks, semifinalists is

:52:01. > :52:12.up in Nottingham and then flew over to Mallorca for a match there.

:52:13. > :52:13.Plenty of tennis this week, having started Eastbourne well over a week

:52:14. > :52:23.ago. Pretty feisty character, wears a

:52:24. > :52:45.very determined look under that headband.

:52:46. > :53:30.Well, I wonder where the Monica Puig has looked ahead to Wimbledon or

:53:31. > :53:37.whether someone has told her about the draw. Her coach, in the middle

:53:38. > :53:55.of your picture. Used to work for the USTA.

:53:56. > :54:04.APPLAUSE If you haven't seen the Wimbledon

:54:05. > :54:08.draw, Monica Puig takes on Britain's Johanna Konta in the first round, at

:54:09. > :54:10.Wimbledon, in a couple of days, and they might meet in the final here.

:54:11. > :55:49.It's not unheard of. Just the second time Dominika has

:55:50. > :55:51.made it down to the south coast. Lost last year in the third round to

:55:52. > :55:54.Svetlana prolong Nice opening to this sunny final, no

:55:55. > :56:21.brakes so far. -- this semifinal. Whenever we talk about Cibulkova, us

:56:22. > :56:51.in the media... Bus in the media sometimes I think

:56:52. > :56:56.make too much of her what we would say is a lack of stature. She is

:56:57. > :56:59.five foot three. I've lost my metric equivalent, I'm sure you have it

:57:00. > :57:05.somewhere there... But it doesn't seem to faze her at all. One metre

:57:06. > :57:11.61. It doesn't seem to faze her at all. Why is she able to compete

:57:12. > :57:16.against Sony players who are almost 6-foot Amazons? Despite her height

:57:17. > :57:23.and her power, it's not something she lacks... She has a credible for

:57:24. > :57:27.work moves so well around the court, reads the play well and she makes up

:57:28. > :57:35.for it in so many other ways in terms of her lack of height. She's

:57:36. > :57:40.got fantastic spirit. She backs herself. But it's her footwork, her

:57:41. > :57:52.willingness to take the ball on the rise, which you don't associate a

:57:53. > :57:59.lot with smaller players. Her timing off both wings is superb. That's

:58:00. > :00:20.plenty, isn't it! She just never stops moving!

:00:21. > :01:02.Just wonder if there will be any variety in this match? There was

:01:03. > :01:09.plenty of that for Cibulkova when she was up against Radwanska, all

:01:10. > :01:10.sorts of different spins and changes of pace from Radwanska for her to

:01:11. > :01:21.deal with. Nicely done, Puig in contrast is a

:01:22. > :01:27.lot more one-dimensional but when it all comes together it is explosive

:01:28. > :01:28.tennis. Yes it might be up to Cibulkova to provide the variety out

:01:29. > :03:29.here. Don't mess with Monica. Named after

:03:30. > :03:32.Monica Seles but her idol growing up was Jennifer Capriati and you can

:03:33. > :04:20.see a few similarities with the ball striking.

:04:21. > :04:42.It's so breezy on court, not much margin for Monica Puig. Yes, she is

:04:43. > :05:14.just going to ignore the wind and get through it.

:05:15. > :05:20.You know what you're going to get from Monica Puig, she is going to

:05:21. > :05:29.stand up on that baseline or as close to it as possible, stand and

:05:30. > :05:32.strike into the spaces. See ball, hit ball. Yeah, it's not rocket

:05:33. > :06:45.science. Cibulkova just about maintaining her

:06:46. > :08:07.dominance on the baseline. No brakes so far in these opening five games.

:08:08. > :08:13.Once again, my single word of Slovakian which means all key would

:08:14. > :08:21.be quite insignificant with that little chat. -- which means OK. One

:08:22. > :08:28.of the longer coach, player partnerships on tour. Played a

:08:29. > :08:55.significant role in her win over Radwanska earlier on Centre Court.

:08:56. > :09:02.First time that these two have played, so the coach has had 20

:09:03. > :09:08.minutes to look at Puig, what would your check list beaver Cibulkova? I

:09:09. > :09:13.don't think she deviates from what she did earlier against Radwanska.

:09:14. > :09:19.Game plans don't change drastically from match to match, you play to

:09:20. > :09:23.your strengths as a player. Yes it's a different type of opponents,

:09:24. > :09:38.different game style to adjust to. But ultimately you play to your

:09:39. > :09:43.strengths and whenever the coach does come on for on court coaching

:09:44. > :10:53.what a player is looking for is positive reinforcement.

:10:54. > :11:01.That is a lovely change-up from Cibulkova. She uses that drop shot

:11:02. > :11:05.well, did it against Radwanska and it's a smart move against Puig who

:11:06. > :11:10.is less comfortable moving forward than she is side to side on that

:11:11. > :11:14.baseline. We thought she might be the one to provide the variety and

:11:15. > :11:31.she is rewarded here with a couple of break points.

:11:32. > :11:37.Cibulkova has got to make sure she just stands strong when she is

:11:38. > :11:41.pushed out into the corners or pushed back behind the baseline. It

:11:42. > :11:46.is a heavy strike from Puig but Cibulkova has just got to make sure

:11:47. > :11:51.she doesn't stand up on the strikes. Stays low to the ground. Use her leg

:11:52. > :12:06.strength. That's good enough! More than good.

:12:07. > :12:26.Cibulkova is the first to break. Little look over at her team,

:12:27. > :12:32.everyone has a team these days, I can imagine what it costs to run

:12:33. > :12:39.these teams. $35,000 already earned this week but that will double up to

:12:40. > :12:41.70,000 for making the final. That will help cover the food and hotel

:12:42. > :14:12.bill for the team. I think we might have to put some

:14:13. > :14:21.stones in her pockets just to stop blowing away! She's got quite a high

:14:22. > :14:51.ball toss, Cibulkova and in these conditions it can prove troublesome.

:14:52. > :14:58.Little look over towards her team from Puig after the error. She's got

:14:59. > :15:02.to keep going for it, that's what got her to this stage in the

:15:03. > :15:06.tournament. If it is there to be hit, go for it. If yourself a bit

:15:07. > :16:08.more margin but don't back off. Since there is a rather luscious

:16:09. > :16:20.competitor lying beneath Monica Puig. Behind that sunny exterior --

:16:21. > :17:06.a rather for raw chefs competitor -- ferocious competitor.

:17:07. > :17:13.The Slovak with the upper hand out here. A lot of experience in her

:17:14. > :17:20.favour. She takes a 5-2 lead in the opening set. Unsurprisingly the

:17:21. > :18:52.coach for Puig is now on. Fast language for Monica is Spanish,

:18:53. > :18:56.the other is Argentinian. -- first language. Much more comfortable

:18:57. > :19:03.speaking in her native tongue. Bake pep talk from the coach. Hasn't

:19:04. > :19:11.played badly in the opening half an hour against for opponents but

:19:12. > :20:42.finding herself struggling to stay in this first set.

:20:43. > :20:53.What happens on that second serve? She doesn't get any kick on it.

:20:54. > :20:58.Never that much margin. The second serve is a slower version of the

:20:59. > :21:11.first. It's an area she could definitely improve on.

:21:12. > :21:16.On her second serve she doesn't quite, she doesn't have the ability

:21:17. > :21:23.to get under the ball, to wrap the racket head around it to produce

:21:24. > :21:31.kick. It's either a flat or a sliced serve.

:21:32. > :21:45.Oh dear. Just overcooked it. Maybe caught the site of Cibulkova just

:21:46. > :21:49.out of the corner of her eye. All of a sudden this game has turned rather

:21:50. > :21:58.nasty on her and Cibulkova has set point. It's all gone wrong for the

:21:59. > :22:55.youngster. Cibulkova takes the opening set to 6-2.

:22:56. > :23:12.What a great reaction. You simply cannot give more. That's it! The

:23:13. > :23:20.waiting is over! That is way too good. That's it! That bit, she has

:23:21. > :23:54.done it! The Queen on Centre Court. How lucky we are in this sport to

:23:55. > :24:00.have so many great champions. All eyes will be on Serena Williams in a

:24:01. > :24:09.couple of days' time, just to see if she can equal the 22 Grand Slams of

:24:10. > :24:13.Steffi Graf and put her name even higher up, if possible, even more

:24:14. > :24:18.prominently in the history books. So much to look forward to. Cibulkova

:24:19. > :25:12.to start the second. What do you want to see from Puig in

:25:13. > :25:16.the second set? It would be easy to say that it would be nice to see

:25:17. > :25:18.Monica Puig mix it up a little bit more but that's not something which

:25:19. > :25:51.comes naturally to her. But I mean, some of these messes

:25:52. > :25:57.from Puig are not even close. Go back to basics, middle of the court

:25:58. > :26:01.with depth is just as effective. I guess when you all have one or two

:26:02. > :26:05.dimensions and they are going wrong you don't have anywhere else to go

:26:06. > :26:06.and that is where she is at the moment. Cibulkova running a tight

:26:07. > :26:34.ship at the moment. See? There you go, straight through

:26:35. > :26:47.the middle, hard, with depth. You are hired! It's such an effective

:26:48. > :26:49.shot. If in doubt... Important point here for Puig, good start to this

:26:50. > :27:50.second set. Cibulkova looking very comfortable

:27:51. > :27:53.in this first semifinal. You have to give credit to Cibulkova because she

:27:54. > :28:01.has just been relentless. She has applied the pressure throughout,

:28:02. > :28:03.right from the start. And Puig just feels she has to do more than is

:28:04. > :28:43.necessary out here. I just don't think Puig believe she

:28:44. > :28:52.can find a way through Cibulkova. The conditions, sadly, fever

:28:53. > :28:59.Cibulkova who is the more experienced of the two. Yes, it's

:29:00. > :29:01.starting to sure isn't it? Puig very much looking the junior partner out

:29:02. > :29:31.here. Hasn't been on tour that long. Apparently at the end of last season

:29:32. > :29:37.she gave herself a really good talking to after what she called a

:29:38. > :29:44.sloppy year. Had a bit of a bit camp of a pre-season, going into 2016 and

:29:45. > :29:46.her best tennis came out early, qualified and made the final down in

:29:47. > :30:35.Sydney down in January. Cibulkova doing her best to get into

:30:36. > :30:39.Puig's head on the return. Her feet just don't stop moving, Cibulkova.

:30:40. > :31:27.Puig doing a good job here. Fabulous. She's in really good touch

:31:28. > :31:30.this week, Cibulkova. Looking here for yet another break. A third

:31:31. > :31:41.consecutive break of the Puig served.

:31:42. > :31:48.UMPIRE: Miss Cibulkova is challenging the call... What did you

:31:49. > :32:06.say? Is challenging the serve on the right side. The ball was called in.

:32:07. > :32:12.CHUCKLES That's all very strange! Back at

:32:13. > :32:37.deuce. She has come out here in such good

:32:38. > :32:48.touch, you just wonder if that set and a half she had here against

:32:49. > :32:53.Radwanska was the perfect June up. -- tune pup.

:32:54. > :33:17.Puig looking rather lost here. This has all gone rather quickly.

:33:18. > :33:25.I'm just trying to imagine last year when she had that surgery,

:33:26. > :33:29.Cibulkova, on her left Achilles, and was out of four months... As soon as

:33:30. > :33:32.she had shaken off the anaesthetic, she must have driven everyone who

:33:33. > :33:40.was looking after her completely mad! You're supposed to rest and

:33:41. > :33:43.take it easy, I can't imagine... She's not trigger that resting! They

:33:44. > :33:48.might have pinned her to the sofa with a box set. -- she's not very

:33:49. > :36:13.good at resting. An forced errors really just racking

:36:14. > :36:18.up for Puig. Cibulkova doing such a good job here of managing her own

:36:19. > :36:46.game, just keeping this match taking over. -- ticking over.

:36:47. > :37:20.Of the APPLAUSE

:37:21. > :37:40.Clean finishing, and the intensity never drops. How much she would love

:37:41. > :37:48.to be back in the top ten as she was a couple of years ago. Being back in

:37:49. > :37:54.the top ten at a premiere event would do her the world of good.

:37:55. > :38:14.Just one title this year for Cibulkova. It came in Katowice,

:38:15. > :38:16.Poland. She's not a prolific winner of titles but must felt she was on

:38:17. > :38:49.the comeback trail. Seven games in a row now for the

:38:50. > :39:17.Slovak. Looks as if she is hurtling towards her first Eastbourne final.

:39:18. > :40:23.Critical times here for Monica Puig, who has had such a tough week,

:40:24. > :40:30.coming through the qualifier but needed a lot of positive

:40:31. > :40:33.reinforcement there. She looks a rather lost figure on this

:40:34. > :40:42.Devonshire Park Centre Court. Magnificent court, future -- huge

:40:43. > :42:12.width. Yes, she made it!

:42:13. > :42:56.APPLAUSE Somewhat of a swipe. Lovely move

:42:57. > :42:57.forward. She needs something here, doesn't she come to stop this run of

:42:58. > :43:24.games against her. When her coach came on at the change

:43:25. > :43:31.of ends, she had quite a go at her and told her off for not using her

:43:32. > :43:32.feet and going up the court, all the things she supposed to be doing and

:43:33. > :43:52.hasn't been doing. Her route to the semifinals here,'

:43:53. > :43:57.Monica Puig has not faced anyone with the weight of shot that

:43:58. > :44:02.Cibulkova has. She's being rushed a lot more. Also you have to take into

:44:03. > :44:05.account the windy conditions. You have to exaggerate your footwork

:44:06. > :44:12.even more so to be in the right position.

:44:13. > :44:24.Yes, this has been the windiest day we've had this week so far. I'm not

:44:25. > :44:30.sure what it was like in qualifying but I know it was pretty overcast

:44:31. > :44:31.and calm but wetter conditions. That's what it's all about, playing

:44:32. > :45:12.at Eastbourne. APPLAUSE

:45:13. > :45:22.Too good, too much experience. Cibulkova continues her race towards

:45:23. > :45:27.the final. It will be a good day's work for her, won't it? All done

:45:28. > :45:30.before tea-time! Yes, she should be quite pleased with herself. She's

:45:31. > :45:38.performed to a very high level today. You would expect nothing less

:45:39. > :45:42.when it comes to intensity and energy that she brings onto the

:45:43. > :45:47.tennis court. When it comes to attitude, she's up there in my top

:45:48. > :45:51.five of all the female players. Talk about someone who makes the most of

:45:52. > :45:56.her abilities. When she does eventually hang up her racket, you

:45:57. > :46:01.can guarantee she won't have left any stone unturned and she will have

:46:02. > :46:05.no regrets, because she really has maximised everything that she's got.

:46:06. > :46:12.Who is number one for you, in tens of attitude? Good question. Or

:46:13. > :46:22.anyone in your top five. Well... Venus Williams is up there. Do

:46:23. > :46:27.everything, she's going strong. Cibulkova, I could even put her as

:46:28. > :46:32.my number one because I just, I love her energy, I really do. It's

:46:33. > :46:36.something that fans picked up on around the world. When she made the

:46:37. > :46:41.final of the Austrlian Open a couple of years ago down in Melbourne, they

:46:42. > :46:54.absolutely fell in love with her. An amazing effort.

:46:55. > :48:03.It's a real shame for Puig. Not comfortable in this matchup. Even

:48:04. > :48:04.her base game which has been so good this week just falling apart here in

:48:05. > :48:52.front of our eyes. Oh dear. All going horribly wrong.

:48:53. > :48:55.It's often the way, when you feel like you're not quite seeing the

:48:56. > :49:02.ball is big, you feel like you're being rushed, you try to do

:49:03. > :50:28.something extra special. It's not a good feeling for Monica Puig.

:50:29. > :50:52.-- the Puerto Rican getting a lot of support out there. I think the fans

:50:53. > :51:29.out on Centre Court would love to give her a helping hand.

:51:30. > :51:41.Oh! You can hear the effort! It's just one blow after another, isn't

:51:42. > :53:08.it? Come on, she says. She has been

:53:09. > :53:13.magnificent out here. And Monica Puig, who earlier this week had a

:53:14. > :53:16.win over Caroline Wozniacki, the former world number one, just

:53:17. > :53:23.looking outclassed in this company. Cibulkova serving for a place in

:53:24. > :55:22.tomorrow's final. Today, her game has been in tiptop

:55:23. > :55:23.order. You never doubt that energy, commitment or attitude. Everything

:55:24. > :55:53.coming right here in this semifinal. OK, there has been the odd clip here

:55:54. > :56:15.and there! We will let her off. -- the odd blip.

:56:16. > :56:21.Puig just has been able to capitalise on any of her

:56:22. > :56:25.opportunities. That was her first break point opportunity in the

:56:26. > :56:27.match, would you believe? There is a lot that Puig can learn from this

:56:28. > :56:43.match. UMPIRE: Miss Puig is challenging the

:56:44. > :56:50.call. The call -- the ball was called out. Why not? You're kind of

:56:51. > :56:54.bullying for her here, aren't you? But the expression says it all, it's

:56:55. > :57:09.been a tennis lesson. -- you're kind of pulling for her. Match point.

:57:10. > :57:15.It's a Cibulkova special. Another fantastic performance from Dominika

:57:16. > :57:21.Cibulkova. Outplayed and outsmarted her younger opponent. Really showed

:57:22. > :57:37.her who is boss, out there. And after an amazing week when she

:57:38. > :57:40.came through qualifying to reach the semifinals, please show your

:57:41. > :57:44.appreciation for Monica Puig! I think Monica will be back better and

:57:45. > :57:53.stronger next year. Popular the world over, she is a special

:57:54. > :57:59.character, a special player. It was a pretty relaxing afternoon for the

:58:00. > :58:05.team, not so much this morning when she had to resume a set and a

:58:06. > :58:08.breakdown against beef top seed and former champion Agnieszka Radwanska,

:58:09. > :58:15.but Cibulkova doing such a professional job out here against a

:58:16. > :58:19.player she had never met before. Cibulkova, after all the dramas of

:58:20. > :58:25.last year with the operation, the time-out, a ranking fell down and

:58:26. > :58:31.she nearly fell out of the world's top 50. She has had to work her way

:58:32. > :58:34.back and she has done it in style, in just her second visit to

:58:35. > :58:38.Eastbourne. Not really known as a grass court player but you certainly

:58:39. > :58:44.wouldn't know it out here today. Tremendous performance from

:58:45. > :58:51.Dominika. We're going to hear from her now. She's with Chilton.

:58:52. > :58:57.Dominika, many congratulations. Have you ever had a better day on a grass

:58:58. > :59:02.court? No, I would say this is my best they on a grass court.

:59:03. > :59:07.Extremely happy. I was just playing so well, I was really confident

:59:08. > :59:12.after this morning's win. She was really tough to play against. I was

:59:13. > :59:17.able to compete with her today and I was better, so I'm really, really

:59:18. > :59:21.happy. It's not long since we spoke to you following your victory over

:59:22. > :59:26.Radwanska. How did you spend the time in between? I didn't have much

:59:27. > :59:30.time, you know? I went to the ice asked for a while and then I had

:59:31. > :59:38.lunch and then I had to go to warm up! It was a really, really quick

:59:39. > :59:49.one. The final tomorrow, it will be discovered or -- it will be Pliskova

:59:50. > :59:55.or Konta. We will see. I don't like the choose opponents. But it was my

:59:56. > :00:11.best performance on grass court, so I'm really happy.

:00:12. > :00:19.Dancing, skipping, or the couch to 5k. We will help you set realistic

:00:20. > :00:43.personal goals. Let's hope Jo Konta can make a move

:00:44. > :00:46.into the final. If she needs any confidence it can come from her

:00:47. > :00:49.performance against a double Wimbledon champion. All eyes on

:00:50. > :01:17.Konta. Oh yes, Konta is the first to break.

:01:18. > :01:25.She takes the opening set 7-5. Come on, you can do it. Kvitova maintains

:01:26. > :01:41.control of this matchup. What I competitor she is, Konta

:01:42. > :01:49.levels to take this match into a deciding set.

:01:50. > :02:12.Can you believe it? Konta 3-0, double break. Pressure piling up.

:02:13. > :02:18.Konta heading towards the quarterfinals.

:02:19. > :02:31.What a way to finish! Konta is back in the quarters at Devonshire Park.

:02:32. > :02:34.It almost seems like ancient history now, she won her quarterfinal and

:02:35. > :02:41.her semifinal is coming up very soon. The draw has been made for

:02:42. > :02:47.Wimbledon. Jo Konta energised by being the first British seed for 32

:02:48. > :02:52.years, she will be seeded 16 and I think the energy might have seeped

:02:53. > :02:55.out of our when she saw the draw because her first-round opponent is

:02:56. > :03:09.Monica Puig who we've just seen an action.

:03:10. > :03:16.Actually, as I draw for your first Wimbledon seeding, you might think

:03:17. > :03:21.you would be better being unseeded or wildcard. It is tough. I am not

:03:22. > :03:26.sure if she has looked into it as much depth as we have because

:03:27. > :03:30.knowing heart she is just focused on today's match. Right here, right now

:03:31. > :03:36.and the rest will take care of itself. We have some live pictures

:03:37. > :03:40.of Jo Konta who is about to walk onto court. First of all it's far

:03:41. > :03:54.opponent from the Czech Republic. You might not have seen too much of

:03:55. > :04:03.Pliskova but she has got a big serve. It's going to be a battle of

:04:04. > :04:12.the serving game. Please welcome Johanna Konta! APPLAUSE

:04:13. > :04:16.CHEERING We will talk plenty about Jo in just

:04:17. > :04:19.a second but for the rest of the Wimbledon draw which was made from

:04:20. > :04:23.the British women's point of view, they haven't actually had the best

:04:24. > :04:30.of luck with the names coming out of the hat, Heather Watson playing

:04:31. > :04:55.Annika Beck of Germany. That is a game she can win.

:04:56. > :05:02.As far as the men are concerned Andy Murray plays Liam Brodie, it is

:05:03. > :05:03.extraordinary at Queen's last week we were talking about him playing

:05:04. > :05:45.high as bed Marcus Willis is Dell playing

:05:46. > :05:50.qualifying today so we might have another British man in that line-up.

:05:51. > :05:52.-- is still playing. That's the potential writ for and they should

:05:53. > :06:23.things go according to the seedings. When you look at our line-up like

:06:24. > :06:27.that, already you are salivating because it truly exciting? It's so

:06:28. > :06:35.exciting and I believe you'll Andy Murray can do it again this year. As

:06:36. > :06:41.in win it? Why not? Great clay-court season, played well at Queen's,

:06:42. > :06:44.well-prepared, why not? What is almost the most interesting thing in

:06:45. > :06:50.the draw is the quarter that Raonic has been drawn in, in Novak

:06:51. > :06:54.Djokovic's quarterfinal section, is there anybody for you outside of

:06:55. > :07:00.Djokovic and Andy Murray who could win? You can't write off somebody

:07:01. > :07:04.like Roger Federer, he is still a classy performer. It depends on his

:07:05. > :07:08.injury, how his body is feeling but on the grass at Wimbledon you have

:07:09. > :07:14.to use a Roger Federer is in the mix regardless of how much tennis he has

:07:15. > :07:17.played recently. Plenty of chat about that from Monday onwards but

:07:18. > :07:26.let's go to this match coming up with Jo Konta. We can look at the Jo

:07:27. > :07:33.Konta Makarova match from earlier. What did you make of her

:07:34. > :07:36.performance? I thought it was a rock solid performance in tricky

:07:37. > :07:43.conditions. Our defence was great, the variety in her game has improved

:07:44. > :07:47.so much in the past 12 months. She is using the sliced backhand so much

:07:48. > :07:53.more effectively, particularly on the grass and she is not overplaying

:07:54. > :07:58.anything. And the backhand which has always been a strength of hers has

:07:59. > :08:03.just opened up the court, created plenty of opportunities. As well as

:08:04. > :08:12.the forehand, which is rock-solid these days. I just think the fact

:08:13. > :08:18.that she believes in her game, trusts herself, is able to go for

:08:19. > :08:22.the shots and raise her level at tight stages in the match is

:08:23. > :08:26.something of significance. I know it's the same for both players but

:08:27. > :08:29.yesterday was a frustrating day for everybody with the thunderstorms

:08:30. > :08:34.which meant nobody was ever sure if this match would get on court and Jo

:08:35. > :08:39.got off to a pretty wretched start but the way she composed herself and

:08:40. > :08:45.was absolutely calm throughout, that is one of her great strengths. She

:08:46. > :08:49.says it time and again, she doesn't allow herself to get too high or too

:08:50. > :08:54.low about anything, if she can keep her temperament and level, she knows

:08:55. > :09:02.she has the game to heart these players. She has beaten Makarova

:09:03. > :09:06.before this match, in their two previous meetings they were tight

:09:07. > :09:11.but she knows she has the ability to her these players. It's her second

:09:12. > :09:16.Match of the Day because that match took place only a couple of hours

:09:17. > :09:19.ago but it wasn't our 3-set gruelling match physically and

:09:20. > :09:27.mentally which will have taken too much out of her you would think? No,

:09:28. > :09:31.fitness, I don't doubt her at all. She's in peak condition so I don't

:09:32. > :09:35.think physically it will have had too much effect. Actually I think it

:09:36. > :09:39.will have helped her going into this next match. You could say the same

:09:40. > :09:44.thing about Cibulkova, she had a really tough match but she was on

:09:45. > :09:47.it. When she was playing against Puig who had not played for ages it

:09:48. > :09:53.benefited her having been on the court saw recently as opposed to

:09:54. > :09:59.having a day off. Think of it as an extended warm up. These players are

:10:00. > :10:03.well prepared these days but Pliskova also had to finish her

:10:04. > :10:09.match earlier today am a different court and conditions than what we

:10:10. > :10:14.saw earlier. One or two people did take time out to have an ice cream

:10:15. > :10:20.or whatever else it might be because it's fantastic weather here but they

:10:21. > :10:26.are back in force for a packed house to see Jo Konta play in the

:10:27. > :10:30.semifinal and hopefully get through to a final tomorrow. It's worth

:10:31. > :10:34.repeating these things because Andy Murray is rewriting the history

:10:35. > :10:38.books all the time but only one British woman has ever won

:10:39. > :10:41.Eastbourne, that was virgin you weighed 41 years ago. The history

:10:42. > :10:50.books are against Jo but they are there to be rewritten. How do you

:10:51. > :10:58.assess this kind of game? It will be tough, Pliskova has plenty of

:10:59. > :11:00.confidence. She has a big game and will be unpredictable so Konta will

:11:01. > :11:09.have to be sharp with her footwork and serve well. Here we go, second

:11:10. > :11:11.semifinal for the right to play Dominika Cibulkova in the semifinal.

:11:12. > :11:30.Back to Sam Smith. -- in the final. COMMENTATOR: Not often onto you how

:11:31. > :11:33.play two matches in one day. But to contact as lean and conditioned as

:11:34. > :12:13.anyone out there. -- but contact she has already seen off one big

:12:14. > :12:19.hitting big serving Czech, and now there is another in the form of

:12:20. > :12:25.Karolina Pliskova. Ranked just one spot above horror on the WTA

:12:26. > :12:37.rankings, former top ten player. -- above

:12:38. > :12:59.Karolina one of the twin sisters who play on tour. She is the

:13:00. > :13:32.right-hander. If you were not with us earlier,

:13:33. > :13:43.conditions out on Centre Court are treacherous. It is a wind tunnel at

:13:44. > :14:26.the moment, may be dropped slightly from when Joel was last out here.

:14:27. > :14:39.Konta starting in style. Sure she has felt a lot of pressure here this

:14:40. > :14:43.week as the 11 seed coming in for the first time as a top 20 player.

:14:44. > :14:49.But just maybe she can swing a little more freely in this matchup

:14:50. > :14:55.because she has some history with Pliskova which goes back five years.

:14:56. > :14:58.They have played each other on four occasions and Pliskova has come

:14:59. > :15:02.through victorious on all of them. But three of the four of those

:15:03. > :15:12.matchups going the distance. They played earlier this year in India --

:15:13. > :15:50.Indian Wells. 6-3 in favour of Pliskova in the decider.

:15:51. > :15:55.So much is expected of Pliskova back home, she has had a pretty

:15:56. > :16:15.comfortable week so far. Her match against Vesnina finished

:16:16. > :17:04.over on Court One just a few hours ago.

:17:05. > :17:21.Nicely done. Pliskova showing off a few of her skills. Pretty handy on

:17:22. > :17:27.the double scored as well, plays with her twin sister, they are both

:17:28. > :17:33.over six foot tall, a formidable pairing.

:17:34. > :17:48.No sign of nerves. Both women safely on the board in this second

:17:49. > :17:55.semifinal. Grew up about an hours drive north west of Prague. Her and

:17:56. > :17:59.her sister originally wanted to play basketball but they were too small

:18:00. > :19:07.so were not allowed. So their dad got them on the tennis court.

:19:08. > :19:13.So important for Konta to hold comfortably, a break could be very

:19:14. > :19:24.expensive against one of the biggest servers in women's tennis.

:19:25. > :19:48.Really composed start from Jo. She's got a massive hit here in Pliskova.

:19:49. > :19:54.Didn't realise actually it's the third time a have played on grass,

:19:55. > :19:57.Pliskova has won all the previous meetings so what does Jo have to get

:19:58. > :20:05.right today that she hasn't in the past? She has to be able to hold her

:20:06. > :20:09.nerve when it really matters. You won't get too many opportunities on

:20:10. > :20:14.the Pliskova serve so that's why it is so keen to make her play as many

:20:15. > :20:21.balls as possible. Put as many returns back into play as possible.

:20:22. > :20:29.She can get sloppy with her footwork and she can give you more than a few

:20:30. > :20:35.loose shots. It's recognising those moments and capitalising on them.

:20:36. > :20:40.She is a rather tall and willowy young women, 24 years of age. Her

:20:41. > :20:46.movement and footwork has been suspect in the past and it will be

:20:47. > :20:50.fascinating to see if Konta can exploit it in what has turned into

:20:51. > :20:55.the loveliest afternoon at Devonshire Park. This is what you

:20:56. > :21:00.imagine on the drive down, what you hope you will get. The fans here

:21:01. > :21:04.getting a real treat, big screens in other areas of the park so if they

:21:05. > :21:06.only have grown and pass the can still keep their eye on this match.

:21:07. > :21:47.-- they may have grown and oh no! She had all the time in the

:21:48. > :22:35.world. Great example right there, when the

:22:36. > :22:54.distribution is good from the other side she can look a step slower.

:22:55. > :23:03.It is up there with Serena Williams, serve. Such simple motion. You don't

:23:04. > :23:05.have to worry too much about moving when you have a delivery that she

:23:06. > :24:52.has. Konta this week matching the

:24:53. > :24:53.performance of Heather Watson here two years ago by making the last

:24:54. > :25:13.four. And as good a year she has had,

:25:14. > :25:18.making lots of fourth rounds and quarterfinals on tour, this is her

:25:19. > :25:22.first semifinal saw her best week on tour, if you take out the Australian

:25:23. > :25:32.Open run. That is how well she has played this week in Eastbourne. I

:25:33. > :25:38.suspect in the years to come this will be a place that Jo Konta will

:25:39. > :25:48.always perform well, in her hometown of Eastbourne. Quarterfinalist here

:25:49. > :26:06.last year. Falling to the eventual champion. Konta very comfortable

:26:07. > :26:08.behind her service games. Pliskova very quick to go to the on court

:26:09. > :27:18.coaching. A lot of information. Former player

:27:19. > :27:30.himself, has worked for a long time with Karolina. Took her from a very

:27:31. > :27:34.promising player on tour and the Czech's really started to take

:27:35. > :27:35.notice of her when she started working with him. Made a massive

:27:36. > :28:01.improvement couple of years ago. Her coach just telling her to stay

:28:02. > :28:12.positive, keep going for your service. Play your game and get her

:28:13. > :28:17.moving. Your Czech has come on! My sister-in-law is Slovakian.

:28:18. > :28:52.Slovakian and Czech, very similar. Normally we are counting the ACs for

:28:53. > :28:58.Pliskova, she is just one shy of hundred for this season, a couple

:28:59. > :29:45.beers ago she had over 500. And that is 300, well done. Such an

:29:46. > :29:49.easy delivery isn't it? Smooth motion, no kinks in the server.

:29:50. > :29:59.There never has been for as long as I have known her. -- in the serve.

:30:00. > :30:36.Fairly eventful opening six games so far.

:30:37. > :30:44.She has got the advantage of playing earlier today on this court. She

:30:45. > :30:48.will have a good feel for the wind, which is pretty much behind her, but

:30:49. > :30:50.blowing from left to right as you look down the court, over her left

:30:51. > :30:52.shoulder. Pretty much in the direction that

:30:53. > :31:07.serve just went. Pliskova was on Court 1 beating

:31:08. > :31:09.former champion, Elena Vesnina - very different conditions the other

:31:10. > :31:49.side of the West Stand. Konta doing a good job taking the

:31:50. > :31:58.pace off Pliskova's strikes. Familiar sight at Eastbourne and,

:31:59. > :32:00.apparently, modelled on Virginia Wade's serve. And accurate? I think

:32:01. > :32:18.so. This is top notch from Konta. Has

:32:19. > :32:28.barely dropped a point behind her serve in this set.

:32:29. > :32:40.UMPIRE: New balls, please. Her Spanish coach is a top man.

:32:41. > :32:45.There is nothing to change. When the ball is coming, most of the time

:32:46. > :32:52.when she is in trouble, but give her different looks. Other than that,

:32:53. > :32:55.when you are in not in great positions, go to the middle and the

:32:56. > :32:59.ball is moving because of the wind, it is coming at you a bit too fast,

:33:00. > :33:07.go to the middle and start all over again. So those two things to keep

:33:08. > :33:16.in mind, OK? OK in there? That's all. Give her different looks, in

:33:17. > :33:25.the middle. He is not based in Barcelona where so many of the

:33:26. > :33:29.academies are. His place in north-western Spain which is a

:33:30. > :33:34.gorgeous venue to train in the mountains, wonderful for fitness,

:33:35. > :33:43.and he built much of his coaching career working with Roberto Bautista

:33:44. > :33:47.Agut, one of the top Spanish players. He is a credential coach,

:33:48. > :33:51.as they like to say. UMPIRE: New balls.

:33:52. > :34:22.New balls, Pliskova 3-4 on serve. UMPIRE: Miss Konta is challenging

:34:23. > :34:32.the ball on the right baseline. The ball was called out.

:34:33. > :35:57.Call stands. 15-0. Miss Konta has two challenges remaining. Oops!

:35:58. > :36:07.Makes it look rather easy, doesn't she? She answers a love service game

:36:08. > :36:13.with one of her own. Really is impressive. Karolina Pliskova has

:36:14. > :36:18.five titles on Tour so far. Burst into the top ten mid-way through

:36:19. > :36:20.last year. Back at 17 now. Not sure why that is. Has a great game.

:36:21. > :36:35.Couldn't hold it at the top table. UMPIRE: Miss Pliskova is challenging

:36:36. > :36:43.the call on the left baseline. The ball was called out.

:36:44. > :39:15.The call stands. 15-0. Miss Pliskova has two challenges remaining.

:39:16. > :39:47.UMPIRE: Miss Konta is challenging the call on the right centre service

:39:48. > :39:55.line. The ball was called out. It was an immediate challenge from

:39:56. > :39:57.Konta so it must have felt good to her. It wasn't. The call stands.

:39:58. > :40:24.Second serve. Another massive second serve.

:40:25. > :40:32.UMPIRE: Game, Miss Konta. Konta ahead 5-4. Miss Konta leads

:40:33. > :40:38.5-4, first set. Miss Konta has one challenge remaining.

:40:39. > :40:44.Karolina Pliskova comes from an extraordinary family. She won the

:40:45. > :40:48.juniors down in Australia six years ago and a year later, her sister won

:40:49. > :40:55.the Wimbledon title. That is pretty special. Her father very much the

:40:56. > :41:01.driving force behind their careers, and they started at four. There was

:41:02. > :41:05.a tennis club nearby and they had four one-hour lessons a week - that

:41:06. > :41:10.is a lot at four. That is a lot. I think I was allowed to play for half

:41:11. > :41:14.an hour, or once per week. That was mini tennis. At ten, he moved them

:41:15. > :41:19.to Germany where there was a really good Czech coach and they stayed

:41:20. > :41:25.there for a couple of years before moving back to the Republic, so it

:41:26. > :41:31.has been pretty much a lifelong career choice. When both of them

:41:32. > :41:35.came on to the scene, everyone expected her twin sister to be the

:41:36. > :41:44.better of the two. She is the lefty. Yes. She's equally talented, but

:41:45. > :41:58.it's been Karolina who has pushed through. She works that bit harder

:41:59. > :42:07.than her twin. Playing for the right to meet Dominika Cibulkova. We do

:42:08. > :42:08.have summer in England these days! Pliskova serving to stay in this

:42:09. > :42:56.first set. You start to question whether

:42:57. > :44:54.Pliskova has got the consistency of the ground to match Konta.

:44:55. > :45:10.Pliskova was let off the hook there. A levelling up. Never a terribly

:45:11. > :45:17.demonstrative character, is she? When she does flip out, the racket

:45:18. > :45:19.gets a bit of a beating! I have seen her work her way through a number of

:45:20. > :46:00.rackets. Intensity isn't something Pliskova

:46:01. > :46:02.possesses, when you think of her style of play and her footwork in

:46:03. > :46:40.the points. Really good adjustment steps from

:46:41. > :46:45.Konta because Pliskova was giving her nothing. Sometimes those balls

:46:46. > :47:01.with no pace can be quite awkward to play against.

:47:02. > :47:05.Just dropped five points behind her serve in this entire set.

:47:06. > :47:30.Impressive. A very disciplined service game from

:47:31. > :47:37.Konta. I sense she is the one in control out here.

:47:38. > :47:46.We have been talking about her improvement, not just in terms of

:47:47. > :47:51.the ranking, she was 146 in the world last year, now she is 18. She

:47:52. > :47:56.will probably go up a few spots on Monday's rankings. She is the 16th

:47:57. > :48:02.seed at Wimbledon next week. Where do you think Jo's game - we talked

:48:03. > :48:09.about how well she's done over the last 12 months - what more can she

:48:10. > :48:12.get out of herself? She is on the right path working towards the

:48:13. > :48:17.world's top ten here. She's got the game. She's got the weapons. She

:48:18. > :48:22.just needs to produce everything on a more consistent basis. I mean, you

:48:23. > :48:28.said it earlier this, is her first semifinal since the Australian Open.

:48:29. > :48:36.Particularly in the last few weeks, there haven't been a lot of wins. I

:48:37. > :48:39.put that down to some of the demands that have come off court... Because

:48:40. > :48:43.of the success? Because of the success. It is still something she

:48:44. > :48:45.needs to get used to, something she needs to manage very carefully.

:48:46. > :48:58.UMPIRE: Time. The pressure is right back on the

:48:59. > :49:15.Czech. Pliskova serving to stay in this opening set.

:49:16. > :49:25.The one thing Konta could do on the returns is just threaten the

:49:26. > :49:29.Pliskova second serve a bit more. I mean, her first serve is big, but

:49:30. > :49:32.the second serve is in the 80s and Konta can get herself further up the

:49:33. > :49:38.court on the baseline, if not inside the baseline, to take it on.

:49:39. > :49:49.She is not threatening it from where she is standing at the moment.

:49:50. > :49:58.A lot of the players on Tour that have taken on Pliskova talk about

:49:59. > :50:05.the first serve and how it explodes off the court. She is so call and it

:50:06. > :50:19.comes down at a steep angle, like Venus Williams.

:50:20. > :50:34.If in doubt, go straight through the middle!

:50:35. > :50:44.UMPIRE: Game, Miss Pliskova. 6-6, first set. Tie-break. Each player is

:50:45. > :50:48.now receiving one additional challenge.

:50:49. > :50:53.A sense of deja vu here. A few hours ago she was in an opening-set

:50:54. > :50:59.tie-break against Ekaterina Makarova. This is the third she has

:51:00. > :51:01.played this week. She has a very good record in breakers, unlike

:51:02. > :51:48.Pliskova this year. Konta did a great job of closing the

:51:49. > :53:19.net down. Good court positioning. Good change-ups there from Konta

:53:20. > :53:24.once again. Using the slice effectively. When she can, she steps

:53:25. > :53:49.in and really drives that backhand through the court.

:53:50. > :54:13.Fantastic defence from Konta, but Pliskova paying the price for bit

:54:14. > :54:18.too tentative on the drive volley. She wants to stay in that bubble and

:54:19. > :55:31.almost block things out, but surely this crowd is driving her on here.

:55:32. > :55:38.A sloppy moment from Pliskova. I don't think you can afford that

:55:39. > :55:40.against someone as disciplined and meticulous as Johanna Konta. Too

:55:41. > :57:01.many breaks now. Are we taking it all back about her

:57:02. > :57:03.footwork and defensive skills? She was using those long limbs to great

:57:04. > :57:09.effect there. A double mini break advantage very

:57:10. > :58:27.quickly snuffed out. There hasn't been a single

:58:28. > :58:31.break-point or break of serve in this opening set. It's been so

:58:32. > :58:42.tight. Konta, though, with a chance to close it out now.

:58:43. > :59:29.A brilliant breaker from Konta! She takes the opening set 7-6.

:59:30. > :59:34.What an exceptional finish to that first set tie-break. Everything

:59:35. > :59:39.coming thick and fast for Jo now. Wimbledon in a few days' time and

:59:40. > :59:56.then in the heart of the summer, she will be heading down to Rio.

:59:57. > :00:08.Jessica Ennis-Hill is back on top of the world. Nicola Adams has made

:00:09. > :00:13.history! That is a huge jump. Laura Trott - World Champion. Mo Farah,

:00:14. > :00:27.streaking away! I don't know about you that I will

:00:28. > :00:33.be camped out in front of my TV for those three weeks. I get goose bumps

:00:34. > :00:36.watching those trailers. For me the Olympics was definitely a career

:00:37. > :00:41.highlight, being part of the British team and it will be for Jo Konta as

:00:42. > :00:52.well, part of the Olympic team for the first time. She had residency,

:00:53. > :00:56.her parents and herself came over from Australia when she was 14 years

:00:57. > :01:04.of age, it was a long haul with all the visas and lawyers and form

:01:05. > :01:09.filling. Had a lot of support from the LTA for all those years. Yes,

:01:10. > :01:14.they backed her before she received her British passport. She was able

:01:15. > :01:24.to still access funding towards her coaching. She will be heading down

:01:25. > :01:33.there along with Heather Watson, the Murray brothers as well. But first

:01:34. > :01:34.she has an Eastbourne semifinal to deal with and Pliskova to start the

:01:35. > :01:48.second set. Whatever works. Doesn't always have

:01:49. > :04:33.to be at the middle of the racket. Secure opening service game, just

:04:34. > :04:40.what the Czech needed. You did say things would get kicked about. Told

:04:41. > :04:50.you. She may have won the first game of the second set but she is still

:04:51. > :04:56.fuming about that tie-break. Going back to it, how well did Konta use

:04:57. > :05:01.the drop shot? Brilliantly. The front proposition in the second set,

:05:02. > :05:05.serving second so playing catch up. That's never easy. Been on court for

:05:06. > :06:43.just under an hour. Contour just on her guard, aware

:06:44. > :06:50.that she cannot afford a scruffy service game, still celebrating that

:06:51. > :06:54.first set. Pliskova has a very dangerous weapon she brings to the

:06:55. > :07:18.court for every mac should -- Konta just on her guard.

:07:19. > :07:39.When I watched Jo Konta play now I just find it quite incredible that

:07:40. > :07:43.she comes up with points like that. The way she uses the drop shot, the

:07:44. > :07:46.feel she has on court now. A couple of years ago it wasn't part of a

:07:47. > :08:12.game. -- part of her game. If you asked her to play drop shots

:08:13. > :08:15.and lobs of the volley, she was always, there was always too much

:08:16. > :08:23.tension in her body to play shots like that. Now she is able to

:08:24. > :09:10.control it better. She can play tennis like that.

:09:11. > :09:27.Routine isn't it. Just one point lost behind serve in the second set.

:09:28. > :09:43.No brakes so far in the match. Pliskova does rather like to play up

:09:44. > :09:51.the court. There is a lot going on. She's not too keen on being pulled

:09:52. > :09:55.out wide, at the end of her range. Hardly winning any points when she

:09:56. > :09:59.is dragged out to the extremities of the court and that is something you

:10:00. > :10:05.are talking about earlier, that if you push into the corners and play

:10:06. > :10:11.with width she can look a little cumbersome. She goes for a quick

:10:12. > :10:20.fix, something which isn't quite born, when you're able to get her on

:10:21. > :10:26.the move, it's not percentage tennis when you describe her game. Even at

:10:27. > :10:30.24 still a long way from her physical peak. I don't think she has

:10:31. > :10:31.any more growing to do but still think she can fill out in that

:10:32. > :10:40.frame. Doesn't like to hang around. Always

:10:41. > :12:32.first out of the chair. Amazing to see this week, how tough

:12:33. > :12:37.she has been in all the tricky situations. She lost early in

:12:38. > :12:42.Nottingham and up at Birmingham last week. And the first round of the

:12:43. > :12:54.French Open as well, so is a little low on confidence coming in here.

:12:55. > :13:01.Has to be careful not to overplay the drop shots. It's taken just over

:13:02. > :13:02.the hour for the first break points of the match and they go to

:13:03. > :14:33.Pliskova. There is the break. Big push from

:14:34. > :14:37.Pliskova early on in the second set. Maybe after all the investment

:14:38. > :14:41.earlier today on court for Konta and in that opening set break, maybe a

:14:42. > :14:47.little dip in concentration and intensity. It's understandable. It

:14:48. > :15:37.had to come somewhere didn't it? Right into the hitting zone of

:15:38. > :15:55.Konta. And immediate response from the

:15:56. > :16:43.British number one. Oh no. This she OK? As long as she's

:16:44. > :16:49.weight-bearing she's all right but the first thing is it just jars you.

:16:50. > :16:57.It's the shock of going down but I think she's all right. Nothing

:16:58. > :17:09.turned. Or if it did it came back straightaway. She's all right.

:17:10. > :17:50.CHEERING APPLAUSE

:17:51. > :18:11.Utterly ruthless. Eight aces now for the Czech.

:18:12. > :18:18.Oh, that is good, that is really good from Pliskova. Made that look a

:18:19. > :18:34.lot easier than it was because the ball is moving away from her.

:18:35. > :18:44.Five points in a row for Pliskova, she extends her lead. 4-1 in the

:18:45. > :19:00.second set for the world number 17. Do you want me to call the physio?

:19:01. > :19:52.INAUDIBLE the main thing, INAUDIBLE

:19:53. > :20:23.I think someone has been taken ill in the crowd on the West stand.

:20:24. > :20:47.You are almost there. Can you just stay there for a while?

:20:48. > :20:57.Understandably the players are just going to be held. If you have just

:20:58. > :21:06.joined us, someone has been taken rather ill in the crowd on the West

:21:07. > :21:16.stand. Distressing for the players and a lot of the fans here on Centre

:21:17. > :21:23.Court as well. You have to be patient. You are working well,

:21:24. > :21:29.you're playing well. Keep trying. OK? Otherwise you put too much

:21:30. > :21:39.pressure on yourself. It's not fully in your control. Other than that...

:21:40. > :21:48.These are the scenes down from the commentary box, pleased to say that

:21:49. > :21:56.help has arrived. I need to step in and actually lean on it. I don't

:21:57. > :22:03.think there is one thing in particular. The more confidence you

:22:04. > :22:08.gain, the more things... Maybe it is the way I am hitting it, my

:22:09. > :22:18.intention? I think your intention is right. We have to give some credit

:22:19. > :22:25.to her, she serves well. OK? You are doing a good job.

:22:26. > :22:31.A pretty extensive change of ends, pleased to say that the woman was

:22:32. > :22:35.taken out, couldn't quite see but has gotten help and hopefully will

:22:36. > :22:42.be feeling a lot better shortly. It's been taken care of. Back to the

:22:43. > :24:04.match, Konta one break down in the second set having taken the first.

:24:05. > :24:14.Both players settling down. Full focus very much back on this match,

:24:15. > :24:18.Konta with the job to do. Had amassed a fall in the previous game,

:24:19. > :24:23.didn't need the trainer on but was very emotional at the change of ends

:24:24. > :24:25.when her coach came on. I think he has calmed her down. Each to hold

:24:26. > :24:57.here. -- needs to hold here. It's quite bizarre, that last change

:24:58. > :25:04.of ends, full-blown tears from Konta. She looked really distressed.

:25:05. > :25:06.He asked if she needed the physio and she said she didn't and she

:25:07. > :25:54.appears to be moving well. Good resected from the British

:25:55. > :26:03.number one. Very important hold of serve midway through the second set.

:26:04. > :26:11.How do you go about breaking Pliskova? Her coach mentioned at the

:26:12. > :26:14.first time he came on. Midway through the first set. You have got

:26:15. > :26:27.to give your opponent a different work on the returns. -- different

:26:28. > :26:33.work. Well played. Even more so when you are up against the big server.

:26:34. > :26:38.Just a way to get into their head. You can do that by just where you

:26:39. > :27:42.stand on the court, will you stand to receive serve.

:27:43. > :27:51.Just caught a line. This is very much favoured shot, the backhand

:27:52. > :28:12.crosscourt. The last 20 minutes so have been

:28:13. > :28:19.really impressive run Pliskova, cleaning up some of those on forced

:28:20. > :28:40.errors in her baseline game. Looks really set now in the second.

:28:41. > :28:44.The 10th seed extends her lead and Konta will have two serve to stay in

:28:45. > :28:56.this second set. Not quite sure what's come over this

:28:57. > :29:03.match in the last ten minutes so, it's gone very flat. The crowd gone

:29:04. > :29:07.quiet. The crowd have gone quiet because of the scorer lying. There

:29:08. > :29:12.was a slight dip in intensity from Konta. That you have to remember

:29:13. > :29:16.that first set was played at such a high level from her, she was right

:29:17. > :29:25.on it, we could hear her back in herself, shouting out come on. It

:29:26. > :29:30.doesn't take much, a slight dip in concentration at this level, two or

:29:31. > :29:36.three points go against you and suddenly you have been broken. The

:29:37. > :29:41.momentum shifts. Especially against this type of opponent, doesn't

:29:42. > :29:45.exactly expend a lot of energy in the way that she plays. Konta a much

:29:46. > :29:51.more physical player, in wonderful shape. I just wonder if all be

:29:52. > :29:55.hanging around from last night and the week generally might have caught

:29:56. > :30:21.up with her? Certainly needs a rebooked. -- reboot.

:30:22. > :31:06.Konta serving to stay in this second set.

:31:07. > :31:12.UMPIRE: Miss Pliskova is challenging the call on the right service line.

:31:13. > :31:27.The ball was called in. The call stands.

:31:28. > :31:30.Not the most convincing challenge when you move over to the other side

:31:31. > :31:35.of the court after making it. That is heavy striking from

:31:36. > :32:56.Pliskova. She produces a lot of easy power.

:32:57. > :32:57.She is enjoying the quick court now. Conditions have hardened up through

:32:58. > :33:27.the course of this week. It is just the one break in this

:33:28. > :33:30.second set. But Pliskova looks good for it. Maybe Konta getting some

:33:31. > :35:40.investment in ready for the third. Just dragged it. There is a little

:35:41. > :35:43.dip here from Pliskova. I wonder if Konta can take full advantage.

:35:44. > :35:47.Remember, just the one break in this second set. And the only one of the

:35:48. > :36:15.match. I make that her first double of the

:36:16. > :36:20.second set. A set that looks far from over now. Konta had three

:36:21. > :36:22.break-points a couple of games ago. She's got two more here on the

:36:23. > :37:06.Pliskova serve. Sometimes you have to say too good.

:37:07. > :37:09.Yeah. When she is on song, no-one will want to play her in the

:37:10. > :37:25.Wimbledon draw over the next fortnight.

:37:26. > :37:30.These break-point opportunities Konta has had in this set, you can't

:37:31. > :37:33.say she's done an awful lot wrong. Pliskova has been able to rise to

:37:34. > :37:58.the challenge and has come up with the goods when it's mattered.

:37:59. > :38:05.Very cool. You have to admire her, turning around the disappointment of

:38:06. > :38:14.losing that opening set breaker. She made quite a few silly mistakes, and

:38:15. > :38:21.she has the chance now to take this into a final set. Pliskova wraps it

:38:22. > :38:33.up in style and she takes the second set 6-3.

:38:34. > :38:41.STUDIO: It is very easy from off the court and watching matches, but how

:38:42. > :38:46.much did that fall, not just disrupt her rhythm, but disrupt her

:38:47. > :38:52.mentality as well? The fact that she was very emotional at the change of

:38:53. > :38:59.ends, sitting there at 5-2 - the fall came after she had been broken,

:39:00. > :39:05.and she had three break-points back. It really did upset her whole

:39:06. > :39:14.mentality out there. Here is where she slipped. It happens. I don't

:39:15. > :39:18.think she hurt herself too badly and the next two points, Pliskova served

:39:19. > :39:28.two aces, so what can you do about that? Yes. This fall I think shook

:39:29. > :39:31.her up a little bit. If she did feel any tweak or anything, she would

:39:32. > :39:35.have called the physio on immediately. I don't think since

:39:36. > :39:41.then it's affected her movement. She is still moving around the court

:39:42. > :39:45.very well. But Konta, yes, definitely shaken and disappointed

:39:46. > :39:49.more than anything not to capitalise on those break-point opportunities.

:39:50. > :39:53.You made the point, Sam, that it's been a long week for her on and off

:39:54. > :39:56.court, with lots of media requirements in the build-up to

:39:57. > :40:01.Wimbledon because she's going to be seeded 16, the first British woman

:40:02. > :40:06.to be seeded in three decades. Pliskova has just turned up, played,

:40:07. > :40:12.won, gone home. And so has not had any of the extra things to deal

:40:13. > :40:17.with? There is something in that. It is all new for Jo. She's got

:40:18. > :40:22.Wimbledon on Monday. She's got the media day on Sunday, whatever

:40:23. > :40:26.happens here. And maybe sometimes these emotions just have to come

:40:27. > :40:29.out. Maybe it was a good thing that she lost a bit of that emotional

:40:30. > :40:34.discipline and control. She got it back at the end of that second set

:40:35. > :41:47.and hopes are still fairly high for a British win in this decider.

:41:48. > :42:39.How well she's played the drop shot out here this afternoon.

:42:40. > :43:14.Pliskova looks laid-back. She has certainly upped her level in the

:43:15. > :43:16.last half an hour or so. A couple of chances here for the early break in

:43:17. > :44:49.this deciding set. Fabulous from both of them. Pliskova

:44:50. > :44:53.comes away with the game. And hit it is front now for the -- hits the

:44:54. > :45:01.front now for the first time in the match. What are you seeing? I see a

:45:02. > :45:10.let down from Konta, the intensity from her hasn't been what we saw in

:45:11. > :45:14.the first set. In terms of her whole demeanour, the way she is playing

:45:15. > :45:20.currently in comparison to the first set, and her body language. You can

:45:21. > :45:25.just tell that the shoulders are just slightly slumped.

:45:26. > :46:00.UMPIRE: Let, first serve. I do wonder if Konta is feeling

:46:01. > :46:17.tired as well. Not necessarily physically, but emotionally.

:46:18. > :46:50.Oh dear. She's gone again. It's in the same patch of court. I think

:46:51. > :46:54.she's alright. Must be really greasy out there.

:46:55. > :47:08.CROWD: Come on, Jo. Not such a bad fall she took at 3-1

:47:09. > :47:15.down in the second set. Pliskova's level is fantastic at the moment.

:47:16. > :47:16.Very quick to rub it in. Into double figures on aces now. The Czech

:47:17. > :47:48.looking very strong here. The this is going to take a

:47:49. > :48:28.super-human effort from Konta if she is to turn this match around.

:48:29. > :48:38.UMPIRE: Miss Pliskova is challenging the call on the left baseline. The

:48:39. > :48:46.ball was called out. How does Jo get back on track here?

:48:47. > :48:55.She's got to steady herself up top. I mean, mentally. Call stands.

:48:56. > :49:08.15-15. Just challenged by Pliskova, so 15-15.

:49:09. > :49:17.That's a good point. I think this game is huge for Konta, to stop the

:49:18. > :49:22.run of games against her. She's got to stay with Pliskova on the

:49:23. > :49:30.scoreboard. Pliskova is a very good front-runner.

:49:31. > :50:42.When she gets hold of it, she really does.

:50:43. > :50:47.Such a clean strike. That is why it is better with the serve to go

:50:48. > :51:20.straight up the body. The serve from Konta isn't as potent

:51:21. > :51:24.as earlier in this match either. I get the sense there's a few miles

:51:25. > :51:27.per hour come off her ground strokes as well. Yes. I think she's tired.

:51:28. > :51:43.Fair enough. Oh, gosh!

:51:44. > :51:48.UMPIRE: Miss Konta is challenging the call on the left baseline. The

:51:49. > :52:04.ball was called in. It took a bounce as it hit the paint. Yeah. It did.

:52:05. > :52:06.The call stands. A big blob of it. This is critical here for the

:52:07. > :53:31.British number one. UMPIRE: Miss Pliskova is challenging

:53:32. > :53:37.the call on the right baseline. The ball was called in.

:53:38. > :53:47.I think Hawk-Eye will tell us this was well in. The call stands. That

:53:48. > :53:52.could be expensive. A couple of break-points in this game already

:53:53. > :54:03.saved. Not in the most conventional way.

:54:04. > :54:08.Those ground shots were working well earlier on in the match. She's

:54:09. > :54:13.become too predictable as to when she plays them now. Pliskova was

:54:14. > :54:39.very quick up to that one. They know how important this game

:54:40. > :55:33.is. Fifth deuce. Longest game of the

:55:34. > :55:58.match now. That serve is straight into

:55:59. > :56:04.Pliskova's hitting zone. Not just the power going down on Konta, the

:56:05. > :56:09.accuracy as well. Has to face a fourth break-point in this game now.

:56:10. > :56:42.UMPIRE: Miss Pliskova is challenging the call... This is the last

:56:43. > :57:03.challenge that she's got. The players staring hopefully at the

:57:04. > :57:16.screens. Nothing happening so far. If they can't find it - they have

:57:17. > :57:50.found it. Wow. Replay the point. Deuce.

:57:51. > :57:59.UMPIRE: Code violation, ball abuse. Konta is starting to unravel here.

:58:00. > :58:22.And Pliskova building pressure in this game.

:58:23. > :58:28.It's a double break. And things are not looking too good for the British

:58:29. > :58:36.number one. UMPIRE: Miss Konta has requested her

:58:37. > :58:38.coach. Miss Pliskova have requested her coach. Both requiring

:58:39. > :59:15.assistance. Let's have a listen in. We have to stay calm to the very end

:59:16. > :59:25.and make sure that we keep working. It is not easy.

:59:26. > :59:35.Don't get discouraged. How do you not get discouraged? I mean, how do

:59:36. > :59:42.you not get discouraged? You are creating opportunities. We have to

:59:43. > :59:50.keep trying. That's all. There is not much I can come up with and not

:59:51. > :59:52.much I can say to help. Other than please stay calm, please all the way

:59:53. > :00:01.to the end. UMPIRE: Time. And don't get

:00:02. > :00:05.discouraged. Might be worth remembering that she has never

:00:06. > :00:09.beaten Karolina Pliskova in their four previous meetings. They have

:00:10. > :00:14.all been tight. The last three have gone the distance, as has this one.

:00:15. > :00:37.Tough to overturn that kind of head-to-head.

:00:38. > :00:46.That's the first one she's missed in a while. Pliskova really has

:00:47. > :01:07.elevated her level ever since she lost that opening set breaker.

:01:08. > :01:16.This is tennis and stranger things have happened out there. Comebacks

:01:17. > :01:21.are possible. Konta asking her coach how can she not be discouraged by

:01:22. > :01:29.what is going on out there. She has to keep backing herself.

:01:30. > :01:37.There is no other way. There is no point just giving yourself a hard

:01:38. > :01:42.time out there. That is not going to achieve anything. Look at Andy

:01:43. > :01:45.Murray in that Queen's final. He was pretty much out of it, a set and a

:01:46. > :02:18.breakdown. Some encouragement possibly around

:02:19. > :02:41.the corner for Konta. A chance to get one of the breaks back.

:02:42. > :02:52.She did not look terribly spritely moving to that forehand? For sure,

:02:53. > :02:55.Konta is feeling it. I wonder if it is the effects of a couple of those

:02:56. > :03:11.falls that she's had in this match. Can't take your eyes off this one,

:03:12. > :03:27.though. This is the second match for both

:03:28. > :03:33.players today. You never know when Pliskova could start feeling it. She

:03:34. > :03:47.didn't have such a tough quarterfinal as Konta.

:03:48. > :04:00.That will do nicely, though. Konta retrieves one of the breaks.

:04:01. > :04:05.The tennis is overrunning, but Eggheads will follow the end of this

:04:06. > :04:36.game. UMPIRE: Correction - the call was

:04:37. > :06:16.good. First serve. UMPIRE: Miss Pliskova challenges the

:06:17. > :06:20.call on the right baseline, the ball was called out. This is the last

:06:21. > :06:25.challenge she's got. I don't think it will be a successful one from

:06:26. > :06:27.Pliskova. I'm with you. It is right under our commentary box. There is

:06:28. > :06:56.still hope out here for Konta. Really well covered. Pliskova would

:06:57. > :07:04.have loved to have challenged that first volley. It looked wide. It

:07:05. > :07:10.looked really dicey. There was nothing she can do. She's out of

:07:11. > :07:14.challenges and Konta can hold here. 40-30.

:07:15. > :07:21.That's exactly what she does. The British number one might have second

:07:22. > :08:14.wind and it's just the one break in this deciding set.

:08:15. > :08:22.What a day they have had on Centre Court at Devonshire Park. Four

:08:23. > :08:34.fabulous matches. I believe there is a doubles scheduled later on as

:08:35. > :08:38.well. A perfect day for watching the tennis. It's been at such a high

:08:39. > :08:48.level. We have had a treat this week at Eastbourne, so many great

:08:49. > :09:07.matches. Who knows what the next 20 minutes or so will bring here.

:09:08. > :09:24.She is so nonchalant, isn't she? Yeah.

:09:25. > :09:33.UMPIRE: Miss Konta challenges the call on the left service line. The

:09:34. > :09:40.service line judge called it out, then corrected himself, and now

:09:41. > :09:50.Konta is challenging the correction, believing the serve was out. She is

:09:51. > :09:59.wrong. The call stands. 30-0. Point given to Pliskova because the call

:10:00. > :10:01.came after Konta hit the return. Giving the server the benefit of the

:10:02. > :10:14.doubt. UMPIRE: The call came earlier. For

:10:15. > :10:20.me, it was the call first... I didn't hit the ball because he

:10:21. > :10:30.called it. For me, you hit the shot. It is always a grey area when

:10:31. > :10:32.something like that happens. Unless we have a replay with sound, it is

:10:33. > :10:58.not going to help us! A bit of frustration taken out on

:10:59. > :11:05.that forehand from Konta. How good is Pliskova's nerve? I'd say pretty

:11:06. > :11:07.good. I could be wrong. She is usually a very good front-runner.

:11:08. > :11:17.You are rarely wrong! Super cool. Her tennis is very

:11:18. > :12:19.simple. It is quite a weapon. You can see

:12:20. > :12:21.why she serves more aces than anyone else on Tour, year in, year out,

:12:22. > :12:59.right up there with Serena Williams. The coach, dad and agent not looking

:13:00. > :15:23.too hopeful. Good hold from Konta. Keeping it

:15:24. > :15:31.close. And keeping herself in this second semifinal.

:15:32. > :15:41.The winner, tomorrow afternoon, will face Dominika Cibulkova, who,

:15:42. > :15:49.earlier today, was brilliant against Monica Puig. Going into Wimbledon,

:15:50. > :15:59.any strong thoughts? Who might have some good runs? Ooh. Without the

:16:00. > :16:07.draw in front of me, it is hard to say. Cibulkova, who will feature in

:16:08. > :16:17.tomorrow's final here, surely has to be a dark horse to cause a few

:16:18. > :16:23.upsets. What about Madison Keys, who won in Birmingham? Yes, Madison Keys

:16:24. > :16:30.is always dangerous, enjoys the grass, a huge serve, a big game. I'm

:16:31. > :16:33.sure there will be a few upsets, there always are, particularly if

:16:34. > :16:37.the year continues as it has done on Tour with so many of the big names

:16:38. > :16:37.going out in the early rounds, looking so vulnerable.

:16:38. > :18:03.UMPIRE: Time. A dozen aces now for Karolina

:18:04. > :18:15.Pliskova. It's always the solution for her,

:18:16. > :18:19.isn't it? A bit like Serena Williams. It's a big problem solver.

:18:20. > :18:30.Wow. They have been on court for over two hours now and serving with

:18:31. > :19:56.great pace and accuracy. She got the ball she wanted by

:19:57. > :20:00.playing that forehand up the line so Pliskova went into her backhand. We

:20:01. > :20:02.all know the backhand is the side she likes to try and do her damage

:20:03. > :21:16.from. That's all her coach asked her to

:21:17. > :21:18.do, don't get despondent, and she is getting a few second serves to look

:21:19. > :21:38.at as well. Just to add to the drama, there is a

:21:39. > :21:45.nasty shadow coming off the West Stand, coming across this court now.

:21:46. > :21:46.Pliskova doing so well there. Another chance to close out this

:21:47. > :22:09.game. The crowd are really trying to get

:22:10. > :23:04.behind Johanna Konta out here. That's superb. Finally some emotion

:23:05. > :23:09.from Pliskova. She is feeling it as well.

:23:10. > :23:19.The Czech has been in good form. Champion in Nottingham a couple of

:23:20. > :23:46.weeks ago. Just underlining her grass-court credentials.

:23:47. > :24:30.Everyone here enjoyed that. A few mis-hits from both women out there.

:24:31. > :24:55.Well done, Pliskova. That took some doing.

:24:56. > :25:01.You just have to admire the Czech, how she's come back from the

:25:02. > :25:06.disappointment of losing that first set. So, Konta, who has had a great

:25:07. > :25:20.week here, serving to stay in this semifinal.

:25:21. > :25:26.She made it. Pliskova thought about challenging but she doesn't have any

:25:27. > :27:22.challenges remaining. Maybe not as sharp with her footwork

:27:23. > :27:26.as she was in the opening set, or earlier today. It is understandable.

:27:27. > :27:30.She has played a lot of tennis this week.

:27:31. > :28:02.There has been some wonderful shot-making from the Czech. After

:28:03. > :28:21.two and a quarter hours, she has match-point.

:28:22. > :28:37.That's it! It's a first Eastbourne final for Czech Republic's Karolina

:28:38. > :28:44.Pliskova. Ladies and gentlemen, through to the final of the Aegon

:28:45. > :28:52.International, Karolina Pliskova! STUDIO: The shadows lepg lengthen,

:28:53. > :28:56.but sadly for Johanna Konta, the dream of a first British title here

:28:57. > :29:02.since the year we opted into the European Community has expeditioned.

:29:03. > :29:07.The final is tomorrow at 1.15pm. After the momentous events of the

:29:08. > :29:11.last 24 hours, the British are out of Eastbourne, too. Bye-bye.