Australian Ashleigh Barty has lost to top seed Johanna Konta in straight sets in the quarter-finals of the Nottingham Open.
The British No.1 on Friday advanced to the last four with a 6-3 7-5 victory.
It was the first time Barty had played Konta, who moved closer to a first WTA title on home soil.
The Brit has won three tournaments in the past 12 months.
Konta, who had never gone past the quarter-final stage in Nottingham, was confident from the start, breaking Barty in the third game and then claiming the first set with another break.
The second was nowhere near as comfortable, as Barty broke to take a 4-2 lead. However, Konta won five of the next six games to close out the victory, taking it on a fourth match point.
"I only had one little dip but I tried to stay strong. I felt I was able to raise my game," Konta, who will carry Britain's hopes in the Wimbledon women's singles next month, said after reaching the semis without dropping a set.
"It was definitely a nice little comeback," she added. "I worked very hard to get myself back into that second set and stop Ashleigh from running away with it."
Konta won at Wimbledon for the first time last year after four opening round defeats but after her rapid rise up the rankings, including the title in Miami this year, she will be expecting a deep run at the All England Club.
She will continue to sharpen her game with a Saturday semi-final in Nottingham against either Magdalena Rybarikova or qualifier Kristie Ahn.
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