I’ll win it one day
KONTA’S VOW AFTER CRASHING OUT TO VENUS
JO KONTA pledged that she can still win Wimbledon, despite her first semi-final here ending in crushing disappointment. The British No 1 lost a one-sided semi-final to veteran American Venus Williams, going down 6-4, 6-2 in only 74 minutes, but she insisted she will come back stronger. ‘I definitely feel like there’s no reason why I would not be able to be in a position to win a title like this one day,’ said Konta, whose conqueror will now face 2015 finalist Garbine Muguruza tomorrow. ‘Quite honestly, I
think I was in with a shot of winning this tournament. It came down to the day, and Venus played better than me. There’s a lot of things I can still get better at, which is exciting for me and exciting for my team. ‘I’m very happy with how I was physically and mentally able to hold up in this grass-court season. I played every week. I stayed healthy and I stayed mentally quite fresh and ready to embrace those challenges along the way. ‘That only strengthens my belief that if I’m ever in a position to be involved in a Slam for the full fortnight, that I will be able to keep myself in that mental and physical state to play for a title.’ Konta will enter the world’s top five for the first time after this fortnight. ‘It’s a nice club to be a part of,’ she said. ‘But I’m looking to keep getting better. I want to keep improving.’ Williams will now contest the title an incredible 17 years after she first won at SW19. The American was gracious about Konta, saying: ‘She played an amazing tournament. She showed a lot of courage. I feel like she wants these majors, she’ll have an opportunity.’ Konta also received praise from outside the tennis world, when singer Van Morrison tweeted her an invitation to one of his concerts. ‘Thank you so much! I would love to!’ she replied.