Brits Konta, Watson into Eastbourne semis

Johanna Konta has beaten Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko and world No.1 Angelique Kerber in succession to reach the semifinals of the WTA Premier event in Eastbourne.

Konta suffered a nasty slip and appeared to smack her head when at match point, but after a lengthy delay an on-court treatment, she got up, settled and won the next two points from deuce in the final game to seal a 6-3 6-4 win.

Joining her in the last four was Heather Watson, who got past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Barbora Strycova on a manic Thursday.

Watson trailed Strycova 4-2 in the final set before completing a 6-1 1-6 6-4 victory in two hours.

All eight third-round matches and the four quarterfinals were played back-to-back at Devonshire Park, after the order of play was completely wiped out due to rain on Tuesday and again rain-interrupted on Wednesday.

Also advancing to the semifinals were Karolina Pliskova and Caroline Wozniacki.

Pliskova, seeded No.3, beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-7(7) 6-2 6-4 and will next face Konta, while Wozniacki roared back from a set and 3-0 down to beat Simona Halep 5-7 6-4 6-1.

Halep’s loss ensures Kerber will maintain her hold on the No.1 ranking.