British world No.47 Johanna Konta made her first ever Grand Slam quarterfinals with a close 4-6 6-4 8-6 victory over seed No.21 Ekaterina Makarova on Monday in Melbourne, the win also being the first Australian Open quarterfinal of a British WTA player since 1983. In the final eight Konta will face Zhang Shuai, a qualifier who has unbelievably continued her Australian Open fairytale, albeit today greatly helped by Madison Keys' leg injury.
After losing the first set to favorite Makarova 4-6, who boasts six Grand Slam quarterfinals or better in her biography, the unseeded Konta answered by taking the second set with the same score.