Johanna Konta makes history at the US Open

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Jo Konta.Image source, Clive Brunskill

Tennis star Johanna Konta has reached the quarter finals of the US Open for the first time.

In doing so, she has become the first British woman reach the last-eight of the tennis competition since 1983.

Konta reached the quarters by fighting back from a set and 3-1 down to win 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 7-5 against Karolina Pliskova.

She will face the fifth ranked player Elina Svitolina in the last eight.

It's been a great year from Konta. She has already reached the French Open semi-finals and Wimbledon quarter-finals.

The last British woman to do so was Jo Durie. She was the last British woman to reach the semi-final of a Grand Slam tournament until Konta reached the semi-final of the 2016 Australian Open.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Celebrity pal Tom Hiddleston was cheering on Johanna Konta

Konta has some famous fans in her camp. During her match against Pliskova she has been supported by actor Tom Hiddleston.

It's the second time that Tom has cheered on Johanna this tournament, sitting courtside for her first round match just last week.

Everything you need to know about Johanna Konta
  • In the last five years, Johanna Konta has gone from 151st in the World to her highest ranking of 4th. She's currently placed 16th.

  • Johanna Konta is Britain's number one female tennis player, but did you know that Johanna was actually born in Sydney in Australia. She moved to the UK in 2005 and has been playing professionally for Great Britain since 2012.

  • Konta first started playing tennis when she was eight years old, and says her hero is Steffi Graf, a former German tennis player who won 22 Grand Slams.

  • Another of her heroes is pop singer Taylor Swift, who she once went to see in concert before competing at Wimbledon.