Halep 'cries' foul after Wimbledon exit

Romanian wanted match point of her defeat replayed due to a loud scream

LONDON: Simona Halep believes the match point in her Wimbledon quarter-final defeat to Britain's Johanna Konta should have been replayed after a fan screamed out, causing the Romanian to check her stride and shot.

Just as the second seed went into her wind-up on a forehand to stay in the tie, a woman's loud, piercing scream echoed around Centre Court, the sound amplified to dramatic effect by the closed roof.

Halep was obviously distracted by the call and looked to umpire Kader Nouni to rule the point to be replayed.

But no call was forthcoming and Konta too looked bemused as she walked to the net after her 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win, which made her the first British woman to reach the semi-finals in 39 years.

"I thought he's going to repeat the point. I think it's normal to repeat the point when someone is screaming like that," said Halep. "He said, 'We cannot replay. I cannot change anything'. So why I should fight?"

Konta, 26, said the scream was just as distracting from her side.

"It was a woman on my end who screamed. I think she got over-excited about the deep ball that Simona hit. It was actually as I was hitting my ball, so I think it more affected me than my opponent," she said. "I think the fans were a little over-enthusiastic in parts. But I definitely cannot complain with the amount of support and general good feelings that they were wishing my way."

Supporters in the 15,000-seater Centre Court roared on home favourite Konta throughout the match.

Konta will face five-time champion Venus Williams in the semi-finals on Thursday.

Pliskova becomes world number one

Czech Karolina Pliskova rose to the top of the WTA rankings without striking a ball on Tuesday as results at Wimbledon saw her overhaul Germany's Angelique Kerber.

By a quirk of the points-based ranking system the 25-year-old rose to the summit — the 23rd player to do so — thanks to Simona Halep's quarter-final loss to Johanna Konta.

Romanian Halep would have become world number one had she beaten the Briton.

Bizarrely, Pliskova, seeded three at Wimbledon, lost in the second round to Magdalena Rybarikova but her consistent results this year, including reaching the French Open semi-finals, means she will be number one when the rankings are updated on Monday.

Despite never having won a grand slam tournament, the Monte-Carlo based player becomes the first Czech to be number one since the rankings were introduced in 1975.

Czech-born Martina Navratilova, who won 18 singles majors, became number one in 1978 but was representing the US by then. "Karolina is an exemplary athlete on and off the court and she truly deserves this fantastic moment in her career," said WTA CEO and chairman Steve Simon in a statement.

Venus draws on spirit of Serena

Five-time champion Venus Williams is drawing on the emotional support of her absent sister Serena at Wimbledon as the 37-year-old American remains on course to seize one of her sibling's records should she go on to claim an eighth grand slam title.

Williams won a cross-generation battle when she beat 20-year-old French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday to reach her 10th semi-final in 20 attempts at the All England Club and next faces home favourite Konta.

The American stands two victories away from a remarkable triumph and a win in Saturday's final would allow her to replace Serena, who is taking a break from tennis to give birth to her first child, as the oldest women's grand slam winner.

"They're definitely here with me, for sure," Williams told reporters on Tuesday. "Even if it's not physically. That is one thing I do know. They're fighting right alongside me."