The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Konta run ended by ruthless Williams
British hopes blown away as Venus storms into final
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 yesterday.
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 OK, 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 a 106-mile-per-hour second serve, and then made Konta pay by breaking 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 semi-finals at the All England Club. She insists she can challenge again. “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,” Konta said.
“Quite honestly, I think I was in with just as much of a shot of winning this tournament here. I think today it came down to on the day, and Venus played better than me.”
Konta was playing only her second grand slam semi-final, having reached the last four at the Australian Open last year, while Williams was in her 22nd.
When Williams was playing her first match in the Wimbledon main draw 20 years ago, Konta had just turned six.
“Did experience play a part? I’m sure to a certain extent, definitely,” Konta said.
“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 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. “I guess it’s a nice club to be a part of.”
While the 26-year-old winds down by watching her favourite band U2 next weekend, 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 2015 final.
“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.”
Williams has now played Konta six times, with victories split at three each.
On Konta’s potential, Williams added: “She played an amazing tournament.
“She showed a lot of courage, played in tough situations against players who were in form. I feel like she wants these majors, she’ll have an opportunity.”
Muguruza tormented Magdalena Rybarikova for an hour and five minutes in the Centre Court opener.
The thumping 6-1 6-1 win came against a Slovakian player who had said it was her childhood dream to play in a semi-final on Centre Court, but who might have nightmares about how it panned out.
Seven-time Wimbledon queen Serena is the player who was Muguruza’s conqueror two years ago and her name and that of Venus are unmissable on the board within the All England Club that lists all the former champions.
“I always stare at the wall where all the names are of the previous winners,” Muguruza said. “There are a lot actually that are repetitive.
“I would like to see my name there hopefully. I’m here, I have another chance.”
Asked if there was a particular former winner or winners that inspired her, Muguruza said: “Not one (in particular) gives me motivation, because all the names that I read, I know all of them.
“For the last few years, you see a lot of the Williams surname. I look forward to putting a Spanish name back there.”
One name on the board who has been an inspiration is Conchita Martinez, Spain’s Fed Cup and Davis Cup captain who is with Muguruza at Wimbledon in