she'll now take on venus williams for a place in the final asjoe wilson reports. 0n centre court, a britishr, johanna konta's progress here had taken her life to a different level. where every mood, every move is scrutinised. johanna konta first played at wimbledon as a junior, represented australia. when her hungarian—born parents moved to britain, she followed. gained citizenship in 2012. really konta is not a product of one nation or a tennis system but a product of her own intense motivation. against her here, simona halep, a player ranked higher, capable of matching konta, almost nothing between them. just look at hawk—eye, fractional. but halep‘s point and halep‘s set. at crucial moments, konta was making more mistakes. sad, but true. still, adversity is just an opportunity for resilience, as they say on the hill. the second set went to another tie—break. boom and echo beneath the roof. deep breath, deep breath, now exhale. one set all. into the third, could konta break the halep serve? here we go. 5—4 up. match point, and the crowd on the brink. listen for a scream and watch the reac

saved the first day, as around him four wickets fell, and at the close the hosts were 171 for 4, asjoe wilsonat one of the world's great cricket arenas. 100th test match at the oval. he started it. the ground on thursday morning, the ground in 1914. anyone who became someone played cricket here. at this test match, england threw themselves into the future, picking three debutants hoping for the best. keatonjennings is still trying to find his way for england. noughts don't help him or the captain. joe root suddenly has responsibility for, well, everything. his decision to bat first, so show them something positive. first runs in test cricket for tom westley, first of the debutants to bat. he lasted until lunch, and then fell as soon as play resumed. looked the part for 25 runs. now the captain. well, that felt good, but the last thing joe root needed was a brilliant catch by the wicketkeeper. oh, gone for 29. well, between the dismissals, between the rain showers, england needed a batsman to persevere. it was alastair cook, of course it was. cook's 50 took him 203 minutes and everyone with an

slam title and his second since returning from a six—month break at the beginning of the year, asjoe wilsonet the greatest man to play tennis. have a good match. everyone knew the status of roger federer and the significance of this final. we had seen his magnificent seven titles at wimbledon. now the unique, all—encompassing eighth. marin cilic of croatia began the match trying to be positive, but here's the problem. even when you think you have got federer beat, assumed the point is won, it isn't. he got it. in the first set alone, federer displayed his full repertoire. he is, above all, an artist. even when cilic got his serve in, there was federer. if it doesn't go right, go left. the body language of cilic varied from anger to something approaching despair. midway through the second set, we wondered if he would actually continue. a blistered foot did not help but the key factor was federer. in the final, cilic won eight games, federer has won eight titles. game, set and match, federer. he took the trophy on its familiar tour. you know the way by now. they are waiting beneath the balcon

she'll now take on venus williams for a place in the final, asjoe wilson reports. 0n centre court, aken her life to a different level. where every mood, every move is scrutinised. johanna konta first played at wimbledon as a junior, represented australia. when her hungarian—born parents moved to britain, she followed. gained citizenship in 2012. really konta is not a product of one nation or a tennis system but a product of her own intense motivation. against her here, simona halep, a player ranked higher, capable of matching konta, almost nothing between them. just look at hawk—eye, a fraction off. but halep's point and halep's set. at crucial moments, konta was making more mistakes. sad, but true. still, adversity is just an opportunity for resilience, as they say on the hill. the second set went to another tie—break. boom and echo beneath the roof. deep breath, deep breath, now ex—hail. one set all. into the third, could konta break the halep serve? here we go. 5—4 up. match point and the crowd on the brink. listen for a scream and watch the reaction. scream. halep distracted, whi