KONTA PROUD DESPITE HEARTBREAKING EXIT
VENUS TOO STRONG AS FIVE-TIME CHAMPION DESTROYS BRITISH NO 1’S WIMBLEDON DREAM
Johanna Konta admits her first thought after losing her Wimbledon semi-final to Venus Williams was: “Damn, I’m done.”
Konta’s hopes of becoming Britain’s first female singles champion at SW19 in 40 years were dashed as Williams stormed to a 6-4 6-2 victory.
The American rolled back the years with a ruthless display on Centre Court and will now meet Spain’s Garbine Muguruza for a shot at her eighth grand slam title.
Asked what was going through her head at the finish, Konta said: “Damn, I’m done. Then it was like, ‘Oh okay, well, I’m done’.
“And then it was, ‘Oh, thank you to everyone’. It was truly magnificent, the support that I had. I wanted to acknowledge the crowd.”
Konta had chances, particularly towards the end of the first set when she opened up two break points at 4-4.
Williams, however, saved both, the second with an 106-mile-per-hour second serve, and then made Konta pay by breaking herself in the next game to clinch the set.
The 37-year-old is bidding to become the oldest female major winner in the Open era, but, for all her brilliance, Konta can be proud of her maiden run to the semifinals. “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,” she said.
“Quite honestly, I was in just as much of a shot of winning this tournament here.
“Today it came down on the day, and Venus played better than me.”
Konta was playing only her second grand slam semi-, while Williams was into her 22nd. “Did experience play a part? I’m sure to a certain extent, definitely,” Konta said.
“This was my second semi-final so she definitely came into the match with a lot more experience than I did. But, in terms of how comfortable I felt out there and how focused I was on what I wanted to try and achieve out there, I felt really comfortable.”
Konta’s run means she will rise from number seven to five in the world when the rankings list updates on Monday and four if Muguruza wins the title. “It’s a nice achievement,” Konta said.
Williams turns her attention to Muguruza and winning her sixth singles title at Wimbledon. She will also ask for some tips from her youngster sister Serena, who is taking time off for her pregnancy and beat Muguruza in the final in 2015.
“I definitely will ask her,” Williams said. “I’m sure she’s going to give me hopefully some things that will make a difference for me in the match. I miss her so much.
“I’ve played a lot of finals here at Wimbledon. One more win would amazing. It won’t be a given, but I’m going to give it my all.”
Williams said of Konta: “She played an amazing tournament. She showed a lot of courage. I feel like she wants these majors – she’ll have an opportunity.”