• British No 1 recovers from losing first set to beat No 6 seed • 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win sets up quarter-final with Barbora Strycova

Two years after Johanna Konta raised national expectations to giddy heights at Wimbledon with a stirring run to the semi-finals, she set speculation racing again by beating the two-times champion Petra Kvitova in three sets.

All summer Konta has been rewriting bits and pieces of British tennis history so it was no surprise she should return to that familiar territory after this edgy 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win in two hours and 25 minutes on Centre Court, where she almost blew a 5-1 lead in the deciding set.

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No 1 Court had already witnessed the low-key exit of the American teenager Coco Gauff, who found the former world No 1 Simona Halep way too strong in two quick sets. Uncertainty ruled.

Next up for Konta on Tuesday is another Czech, the unseeded Barbora Strycova, who took nearly two and a quarter hours to beat the 21st seed, Elize Mertens 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on court 12. Strycova, ranked 54 in the world, won her only match against Konta, in two close sets on hard court in Tokyo two years ago, which is not much of a guide. However, no matter who Konta plays during the rest of the week, the burden of expectation will not dissipate.

Her numbers against the other remaining contenders on her side of the draw are encouraging: 3-0 over Alison Riske, who eliminated Ashleigh Barty, the world No 1; and 1-1 against Serena Williams, her win coming when they last met, a dramatic 6-1, 6-0 thrashing in wretched circumstances in San Jose last year – on the day the American heard her half-sister’s killer had been released from prison.

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Konta has won more matches on grass, 32, over the past four years than anyone on the Tour. Another three and she will be even more deliriously happy than she was after seeing off Kvitova, who declined to give interviews for “personal reasons”.

“The experience I had in 2017 was magnificent, incredibly special to me,” Konta said. “I’m just pleased how I’m doing so far, against very tough opponents. Overall, I’m enjoying this tournament for what it is, building on each match.

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“I don’t fundamentally believe in turning points. There is no magic switch. I just feel I’ve been playing great matches throughout the season.”

As for the day’s upsets, she said: “Everyone who is still in the draw is in it because they deserve to be. The eight best players are still in the draw.”

So, to return to the ever-lingering conundrum, can she match the heroics of Virginia Wade, the last British player to win the women’s title here, in 1977? The advice from Martina Navratilova, who won nine Wimbledon singles titles, was simple and direct: “She has to think: ‘Why not?’ You have to think you have a chance.”

Konta knew Kvitova would be no pushover, even though the Czech was undercooked and recovering from a right arm injury. Nerve, or bottle, comes in many forms, and Konta’s drop shot – a high-risk shot on grass if the bounce betrays the executioner – to hold for three-all was ample demonstration of that.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Johanna Konta stretches for a backhand on a warm afternoon at Wimbledon. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

The grass, which behaved well in a dry, warm first week, showed occasional signs of bringing players down – literally – and the strain on knees to scoop under a flat, hard Konta forehand brought the best out of Kvitova on her way to a solid hold. The momentum was with the Czech in the early exchanges but Konta showed in coming back hard at Sloane Stephens that she is always dangerous. This time, Kvitova hit a rhythm that Konta could not match, and the first set was hers.

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For all that there is widespread love for Kvitova after her recovery from a 2016 knife attack – not to mention her universal popularity in the locker room, where she has won the votes of her WTA colleagues six years in a row to win the Karen Krantzcke sportsmanship award – the cheers in the second set were for Konta when she broke at the first opportunity.

In a second game that went beyond 10 minutes through seven deuce points, the Briton needed two aces to complete a significant hold under the most intense counterattack. Konta was leading 2-0 but it felt more like parity.

Kvitova faltered again with a weary backhand to hand Konta another break for 3-0. Konta had to ignore a marginal replay of her serve at 15-0 in the fourth game – which tested her “acceptance” philosophy – to hold for 5-1. A superb lob and a line-skimming backhand got Konta to set point on Kvitova’s serve, but she held.

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Konta had the trainer on during the break to tape her left foot – and struck a third ace to level at a set apiece after an hour and a half. Nice, tidy work. She said later: “I tripped over my foot and it was a little bit sore, I just wanted to give it some support. It’s normal.”

A quarter of an hour into the deciding set, Konta struck a wicked backhand that kissed the line for a crucial break, and held comfortably to lead 3-1. All was looking routine until nerves trembled her racket in the eighth game, when she twice squandered match points and saved three of four break opportunities.

The crowd’s anxiety levels rose appreciably as Kvitova held to love and Konta had her second chance to finish the job, which she did, relieved and ecstatic when her opponent’s backhand drifted long.