French Open 2019: Johanna Konta stuns Sloane Stephens to reach semi-finals at Roland Garros

The Briton put in a superb performance on the clay of Roland Garros to reach the last four in Paris for the first time

The Briton hit 25 winners in the match and only dropped one point on serve in the second set (Getty )

Johanna Konta swept aside seventh seed Sloane Stephens with an extraordinary display of power and precision to reach the semi-finals at the French Open for the first time in her career.

It was scarcely believable that this was the same player who had never won a main-draw match at Roland Garros before this year as she raced to a 6-1 6-4 victory in a flurry of winners.

Stephens lost in the final last year to Simona Halep and had been backed to get there again but she was powerless to stop Konta, who hit 25 winners in the match and only dropped one point on serve in the second set.

By reaching the last four, Konta has matched her own best grand slam performances at the Australian Open in 2016 and Wimbledon the following year, as well as the performance of Jo Durie, who was the last British woman to reach the last four here in 1983.

But none of Konta's previous runs has been quite like this, with the 28-year-old simply bulldozing through her opposition on a surface that had been by far her worst prior to this season.

A lot of credit must go to Konta's French coach Dimitri Zavialoff, who she began working with in October and who has imbued her with the self-belief to trust in her game and her decision-making.

As usual, Court Philippe Chatrier began the day sparsely populated, which hardly made for a big-match feel.

Both players looked a little nervous at the outset but Konta held serve after an eight-minute opening game and then quickly stamped her authority on proceedings.

Speaking afterwards, Konta said: "This is my first match on the new Chatrier and to play one of the best players in the world and to play at the level I did, I feel very proud of myself. I'm just so pleased to have gone through.

"Definitely dealing with the conditions out here, it's super windy, and an opponent like Sloane who can run away with that match. I'm just pleased I was able to keep her on the back foot."

PA