Whether it is trusting her ability more on the clay court, or excitedly talking about her pet dog Bono in chats with journalists, Johanna Konta has cut a more content figure at the French Open this year.

It is perhaps obvious when she has become the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1983 to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

Nevertheless it is a stark contrast to 12 months ago when she suffered her fourth straight first-round exit on the Paris clay.

Then, Konta was ponderous and erratic on the red dirt, going on to criticise the British media for “not making things easy” when journalists mentioned her poor record at Roland Garros.

After a remarkable run to this year’s last four – where she plays Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova at 10:00 BST on Friday – her previous troubles here have been consigned to history.

“She looks like a different sort of player – more rounded, physically and mentally,” Sue Barker, the last Briton to win Roland Garros in 1976, told BBC Sport.

So how exactly has Konta, the 26th seed, transformed herself into a contender for the title?

• Schedule for Friday’s semi-finals
• Konta playing better than anybody – Barker

‘She could always play on the clay, but didn’t have the belief’

Heading into the European clay-court swing Konta was ranked 45th in the world and had never won a main-draw match at Roland Garros.

But her newly-found confidence on the surface quickly became apparent as she reached WTA finals at the Morocco Open and Italian Open.

Despite both finals ending in defeats, Konta had proved she had the ability to cause problems for higher-ranked opponents on a previously tricky surface.

Konta insists she has always retained belief she could succeed on clay and says her work with coach Dimitri Zavialoff, who she linked up with last October, is not specific to the red dirt but aimed at “crossing over to all surfaces”.

“To have never won a match in the French Open and find yourself in the semi-final, it shows it is all in the mind,” Barker said.

“She could play on clay, she just never believed in herself. Now she does.”

Durie, a former world number five, added: “You have to come to terms mentally and emotionally with the surface before you tweak your game a little bit.

“For Jo in particular, she has an aggressive game, it was just a matter of being able to slide a little bit better and keep the balance.”

How Konta has worked out how to succeed on clay is starkly illustrated by the stats:

• Nobody has won more tour-level matches than Konta on the surface this year

• Konta’s record on the clay is 15 wins and three defeats in 2019

• Only Croatian Petra Martic, who lost to Vondrousova in the quarter-finals, has matched her tally of victories

• Konta had only earned seven tour-level victories on clay, losing 15 matches, in her whole career before this year

‘Tactically she is thinking very well – and not panicking’

Konta’s service game and hard hitting have always been her strengths, but in the aftermath of her 2017 Wimbledon success – where she reached the last four – those weapons went awry.

Now she has rediscovered her firepower to devastating effect:

• Konta has won 75.8% of her service games in 2019, nobody outside the world’s top 10 – having played more than 11 matches – has won more

• She has won 82% of her service games (40 from 49) at Roland Garros, with only two players having a higher percentage

• The Briton has won 70% of her first serve points at Roland Garros (150 from 213), a tally only bettered by Ekaterina Alexandrova (74%), Serena Williams (74%), Ashleigh Barty (72%) and Madison Keys (71%) from those who have played more than two matches.

In her stunning quarter-final win over American seventh seed Sloane Stephens, Konta cantered towards victory by winning 18 straight service points at the start of the second set.

“I like the way she has tweaked her serve a bit so that she is hitting those higher bouncing serves,” Durie said.

“She has more cover on the ball on the forehand, she’s hitting some great cross-courts and she’s really brought in the drop-shot when she has her opponent behind the baseline.

“So, tactically she is thinking very well.”

Konta’s belief in her service game, and ability to remain calm, is also shown by the fact no player inside the top 100 has saved as many break points as the Briton this year.

That resilience proved key for Konta, who has saved 64.4% of break points, when she fought off a chance for Stephens in the first game of their quarter-final to hold.

“She is not panicking out there,” British Fed Cup captain Keothavong added.

Autonomy and trust instilled by new coach

Linking up with France-born coach Zavialoff, who enjoyed success with Swiss pair Stan Wawrinka and Timea Bacsinszky, has proved to be the spark in reigniting former world number four Konta’s career.

Zavialoff’s approach is giving more “autonomy” to the player, enabling Konta to trust herself to – in her words – “problem solve” better on court.

“He’s been great in just encouraging me and inviting me and giving me the space to play the way I want to play and not putting too many restraints or restrictions on myself,” Konta said.

“I’m enjoying that self-discovery process of being the player who I want to be and trusting the decisions I make out there.

“That’s been a really nice journey to be on and continue to be on, because it makes what I do out there very self-satisfying.

“I feel a lot of ownership over it, which is a really nice place to be.”

Anne Keothavong, who guided Konta and her team-mates to promotion to the Fed Cup World Group II stage earlier this year, believes Konta is reaping the rewards of being settled in both her tennis and personal life.

“She is enjoying her tennis a lot more, she is happy off the court and that reflects in her tennis she is able to produce on a match day,” said Keothavong.

“There is better clarity when she walks on the court, what she wants to do, how she needs to win the match.

“She plays to her strengths. She has always been capable of doing different things but now does it with more confidence.”

‘Self-assured’ Konta always maintained belief

Konta, of course, has already proved she has the ability to mix it with the world’s best players.

Her breakthrough run came at the 2016 Australian Open where she lost to Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the semi-finals, before she became the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon last four since 1978 the following year.

That run at SW19 propelled her to fourth in the world rankings, yet the effects of increased scrutiny on a home player succeeding at Wimbledon appeared to hamper her as she won just two more matches in 2017.

“She said she felt like she came up against a brick wall, all those emotions, she just found it hard to get going,” Durie said.

“For a little while she was trying to cope with success, that can happen.”

Hiring American coach Michael Joyce for the 2018 season proved unsuccessful, winning only two Grand Slam matches and her ranking dropping from ninth in the world to the cusp of the top 50.

After ending that partnership, Konta hired Zavialoff after a trial run and the decision has proved inspired.

Unpredictable women’s tournament wide open

Konta’s path to the latter stages – and a potential chance to become the first Briton to win the Roland Garros title since Barker in 1976 – has opened up following an unpredictable women’s tournament.

World number one Naomi Osaka, second seed Karolina Pliskova and former champion Serena Williams all lost in the third round and only three top-10 seeded players reached the women’s quarter-finals.

American teenager Amanda Anisimova stunned 2018 champion Simona Halep in straight sets and Australian eighth seed Ashleigh Barty knocked out Madison Keys to set up an unfamiliar-looking last-four line-up.

Halep’s defeat means there is guaranteed to be a first-time Grand slam champion come Saturday, with Konta the only one of the remaining quartet who has ever reached a singles semi-final before but Barty is the highest-ranked player.

Paralympic champion Gordon Reid hopes his part in Britain’s recent World Team Cup success can “switch” his year around going into the French Open.

The Scot has not reached a singles final in 2019, and has not got past the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam in singles since 2017.

Reid, 27, helped GB to World Team Cup victory last month – equalling GB’s best performance at the tournament.

“It was a really good week for my confidence,” he told BBC Sport.

“The last 12 months haven’t been great in terms of my form, but I feel like it just takes one event to switch that and this could be the one for me.

“Everybody’s level has raised, it’s tougher and tougher, and consistency is more important than it ever has been.

“Physically I feel in good shape, but mentally, psychologically, I need to work on a few things to get myself back to the highest level.”

Ranked eighth in the world, Reid will play Belgian world number four Joachim Gerard in the first round at Roland Garros, with the wheelchair singles tournament starting on Thursday.

“It’s a cliche, but there are no easy draws here,” said Reid, a two-time Grand Slam champion in singles.

“Jo is a good player. He made the final of the clay-court event (in Rue, France) we were at last week so he’s in good form, but I’ve had a couple of wins against him recently.

“It will be tough, but if I play well I’ve got a good chance.”

Reid will team up with Alfie Hewett – also a member of GB’s victorious World Team Cup team in Israel – in the men’s doubles, in which they will play Shingo Kunieda and Gustavo Fernandez first up.

In the singles, Hewett – who won Paralympic doubles silver with Reid in 2016 – will face Frenchman Stephane Houdet in the first round.

Hewett, 21, won the French Open singles title in 2017 and says his confidence has also been boosted before Paris.

On facing world number three Houdet, Hewett said: “We recently played each other in the World Team Cup, I came out victorious on that one.

“It was probably one of my biggest and strongest performances I’ve had in a long while so that was a confidence booster for me and something I needed.

“The whole week was quite the boost, playing the world number one Shingo and then taking down Gerard as well.”

British number two Katie Boulter will miss the Nature Valley Open in Nottingham but hopes to recover from a back injury in time for Wimbledon.

The tournament begins on Monday, three weeks before the start of Wimbledon.

Boulter, 22, was named in the French Open draw before withdrawing, despite not having played since Britain’s Fed Cup win over Kazakhstan in April.

“Been getting stronger every day but unfortunately Nottingham is going to be too soon,” she said on social media.

“I’m so gutted, especially as this tournament is so close to my heart. Nothing beats playing back where it all started!

“However, I’m still really hopeful to be back for the grass-court season.”

Johanna Konta is playing “better tennis than anybody” and can win her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open, says 1976 champion Sue Barker.

The British number one, 28, meets Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova in a last-four match pushed back to Friday by bad weather on Wednesday in Paris.

No British woman has reached the Roland Garros final since Barker won her only Grand Slam in Paris 43 years ago.

“Jo is playing the best tennis I have ever seen her play,” Barker said.

American great Billie Jean King agreed with Barker, saying Konta was now a better player than she was when she reached the 2017 Wimbledon semi-finals.

Konta, seeded 26th, has only dropped one set in her march to the semi-finals and produced a stunning performance to beat American seventh seed Sloane Stephens in Tuesday’s quarter-final.

Konta will compete in her third Grand Slam semi-final – on a third different surface – after also losing in the 2016 Australian Open last four.

She had never won a main-draw match at Roland Garros until this year.

“It is her mental approach to matches. She used to have a wobble in matches and sometimes let the other player back in, but she just hasn’t had that in any match,” said Barker, a former world number three.

“She dropped one set but even in that match she looked really good.

“I am really impressed that she is playing that well for the whole match. Her confidence must be sky high, hitting the ball that well and feeling it so well.

“She can go all the way here, I think she is playing the best tennis of anybody.”

Rain washed out Wednesday’s play in Paris, meaning the two remaining women’s quarter-finals will take place on Thursday.

Romania’s defending champion Simona Halep will play American 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova, with Australian eighth seed Ashleigh Barty facing American 14th seed Madison Keys.

Konta’s semi-final was pushed back to Friday to ensure both last-four matches are played on the same day.

King, a 12-time Grand Slam singles champion, says any of the women left in the draw are capable of lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen following Saturday’s final.

“I don’t know if we have a favourite. I really do think it’s wide open,” said King, who has been announced as the ambassador for the revamped Fed Cup.

“Konta is in the best position she’s ever been because she’s had more experience, she’s won more.

“She’s really concentrating well and she’s hitting so big. Her serve’s big, her groundstrokes are big.

“She’s totally focused right now – she just needs to stay the way she is. But she’s going to have to think because of the creativity of Vondrousova.”

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Johanna Konta’s maiden French Open semi-final has been pushed back to Friday after rain washed out Wednesday’s play in Paris.

The British number one, 28, was set to meet Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova in the last four on Thursday.

But downpours on Wednesday meant the remaining women’s singles quarter-finals could not be played.

They will take place on Thursday instead, with both semi-finals now on Friday.

The weather in Paris is forecast to be brighter on Thursday with a chance of a brief shower in the afternoon.

However, more rain is forecast for Friday which has led tournament director Guy Forget to “study worst-case scenarios”.

One of the women’s semi-finals could be moved to Court Simonne Mathieu if a decision is made to use Roland Garros’ third show court alongside Chatrier and Lenglen in a bid to complete the matches.

Forget added it was possible the women’s final could be pushed back to Sunday, with the men’s final switching to Monday.

“It’s not what we hope, but if we have no other choice, then that’s what we will do,” he said.

Konta, seeded 26th, is bidding to become the first British woman to reach the French Open final since Sue Barker in 1976.

Romania’s defending champion Simona Halep was due to play American teenager Amanda Anisimova in their quarter-final on Wednesday, while Australian eighth seed Ashleigh Barty was scheduled to meet American 14th seed Madison Keys.

The rain also saw the two remaining men’s quarter-finals cancelled, meaning all four matches will be played from 11:00 BST on Thursday.

World number one Novak Djokovic plays German fifth seed Alexander Zverev, while Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem meets Russian 10th seed Karen Khachanov.

British pair Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid are also set to begin their French Open wheelchair campaigns on Thursday, with the singles and doubles draws taking place later on Wednesday.

Hewett won the singles title in 2017, while Reid has twice won the doubles at Roland Garros.

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

This is the final Grand Slam which will ever be played without the luxury of a roof, and its absence certainly favours those in the bottom half of either draw.

The likes of Halep and Barty are likely to have to play three matches in three days to win the title.

The likes of Djokovic and Thiem face three matches in four days if they are to lift the trophy.

It’s not a huge disadvantage for the women, as they are used to playing back-to-back matches on the WTA Tour.

But it is more of an issue for the men, who play best of five sets in a Grand Slam. And as we have already seen this fortnight, those matches can sometimes last for over five hours.

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