Johanna Konta's memorable Wimbledon the start of better things to come
— -- LONDON -- As Johanna Konta walked off Wimbledon's Centre Court on Thursday, one thought raced through her head: "Damn, I'm done!"
That is far from the case. While Great Britain will wallow in disappointment after her 6-4, 6-2 semifinal loss to Venus Williams, which came 24 hours after fellow home favourite and defending men's champion Andy Murray crashed out, the same cannot be said for Konta.
Yes, the British No. 1 is upset at missing the final of her home Grand Slam. Yes, she will have to make do with walking out into London's Olympic Stadium to watch U2 on Saturday instead of entering tennis' most famous show court to rapturous, partisan cheers from the "Konta Mania." Yes, Britain's wait for a first female champion since Virginia Wade 40 years ago will go on.
But before the dust has even properly settled on her loss to five-time champion Williams, the outlook is positive. Prior to this sensational run at SW19, Konta had won just one match in five appearances at Wimbledon. She had lost in first round four times in five years. Now, there is a real sense that one day she will be stood on Centre Court clutching the famous Rosewater Dish.
"I definitely have a lot more to improve on," Konta said in her postmatch press conference. "But 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."
An hour after defeat, Konta's demeanour as she faced questions from the bowels of Wimbledon's press centre was encouraging. There was a sense of pride as she talked and, understandably, a touch of relief. The pressure that players face before competing in their home Slam is completely different from any other major; every victory is championed in overstated glory, every defeat immortalised in disappointment.
Even Venus, playing in her 20th Wimbledon, recognised Konta's resilience in dealing with it. "I feel like she wants these majors, she'll have an opportunity," Williams said. High praise from a veteran who has seen it all and won most of it, too, should not be sniffed at.
Konta, though, would not stop smiling. The 26-year-old, born in Sydney to Hungarian parents, laughed and joked about looking back on these Championships in a few years' time. Hopefully I will have gone further, was the answer.
She beamed as she explained why her mother chooses to walk about the SW19 grounds rather than sit nervously on court watching every point pass by. There was genuine humility, too, as she thanked the British public for their amazing support, for being part of her journey. Konta's heritage has often sparked debate and perhaps led to some misguided opinions on her but, sensing the reaction this week and the demand for her to sign autographs on her walk off Centre Court, those views are changing for the better.
Konta's performances throughout the past two weeks -- and in fact the entire grass-court season -- make it easy to forget this was only her second appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal. Her battling quarterfinal victory over world No. 2 and second seed Simona Halep, arguably the highlight of her tournament, showcased her never-say-die attitude and mental toughness to grind out results when things aren't going smoothly.
All of her joking aside, there remained a strong desire to go further, be better and become a major champion. Konta was brutally honest in admitting that Venus was just better. Yes, breaking into the world's top five when the new WTA rankings come out Monday will be nice. But then came that familiar, brushed consideration of wanting to improve, of having things to work on, of the new and exciting challenges that lie ahead.
The hard-court season, a return to her favoured surface, and the US Open spring to mind. Flushing Meadows, incidentally where Murray broke his Grand Slam duck, is on the horizon and, in this form, Konta has to be a serious consideration to do the same.
Konta summed up her Wimbledon experience in one word: "memorable." Ask her in a few years' time, though, and it could be replaced with something far grander.
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