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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2016

Johanna Konta

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

J. KONTA/V. Williams

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Great start to your campaign, Jo. Were you satisfied with the way you played today?
JOHANNA KONTA: Yeah, I'm very satisfied with how I dealt with the situation. It was hot out there. I was playing an incredibly great player. That's no secret.

Yeah, no, and I definitely played a good level and obviously it's always nerve-wracking to be able to continue that and, you know, there is ebbs and flows in a match. Yeah, no, I'm happy with the whole match in general.

Q. Did you feel yourself tensing up a bit at 5-Love in that second set?
JOHANNA KONTA: Tensing, I wouldn't say so, but obviously there are nerves, and also the nerves of the many thousand people around you, which is impossible not to feel either.

So just really focusing on my breathing and just trying to stay very present. Just very much staying with the work at hand, because it's never is over until you're shaking hands.

Yeah, with that mindset, I just try to keep fighting and keep running down every ball.

Q. Did you feel like the crowd was behind you today?
JOHANNA KONTA: There was a very good mix. I definitely felt a lot more support than I was anticipating. Obviously she has a huge fan base just because it's Venus Williams.

But, no, I was very pleasantly surprised with the amount of support I got out there.

Q. After losing a close match in Wuhan, what things did you take from that match to use in this one?
JOHANNA KONTA: You know, I'm a firm believer it's a new day, new match. Not necessarily much crossover whether you've played the person before.

However, it did give me the opportunity that I had been on court with her before. I had a better understanding, better feel of what kind of ball was going to be coming off her racquet.

In that sense, I was more comfortable out there. It was definitely a different setting and different tournament. That in itself had its own challenges. I'm very happy with the game plan I went out there with and just my ability to really stick with it, even when things were getting a bit close.

Q. I have to ask these Australian questions. What stays with you when you think about your childhood here?
JOHANNA KONTA: My ability to deal with the heat (Smiling.) I think I'm very lucky that I got to spend a lot of my young years here, because I got obviously exposed to the heat out here.

My sister still lives here, so obviously I still have a family connection here. Australia is a beautiful country to have once called home and to always come visit. Yeah, it's special to me in that way.

Q. Can we convince you to come back?
JOHANNA KONTA: No. Unfortunately, my home is Great Britain. It has been for a long time now, over a decade. Yeah, no, that's where my heart is.

Q. People will look at the state of Australian tennis and Sam Stosur losing again last night and seeing you beat Venus today and think, Damn...
JOHANNA KONTA: Ah, jealousy is not a good thing.

Q. Are you the one that got away?
JOHANNA KONTA: Oh, that's a bit -- I don't know how to -- I feel as if that's one of those boyfriend talks. Is that the guy that got away?

I think Australian tennis is doing quite well, to be honest. You have a number of very good players, and it's -- what's the word? It's not a privilege, but it's a compliment that you guys would say that, so thank you.

But, yeah, be grateful for what you guys have, as well.

Q. You said you have told us before you used to come down here to Melbourne Park to practice a lot.
JOHANNA KONTA: Uh-huh.

Q. I assume you have never played on Rod Laver Arena before.
JOHANNA KONTA: I practiced there but never a match.

Q. What memories do you have of it from childhood?
JOHANNA KONTA: I remember playing under-12 nationals here, and it was a really, really long match on one of the outdoor courts. It was a very hot day. I remember having to kick, like both of us, the girl I was playing with -- I can't remember who it was -- but, yeah, kicking our shoes off because the rubber was melting and our feet was so hot. That's a definite significant memory.

But I stayed with a wonderful family when I was here. When I was about 11, 12 I was spending two weeks here, two weeks in Sydney where my parents were.

Yeah, no, I have a lot of very fond memories coming to do camps and things like that.

Q. You never watched either of the Williams sisters play a match?
JOHANNA KONTA: No.

Q. As a spectator?
JOHANNA KONTA: No. I never came as a spectator to Melbourne for the Australian Open, no.

Q. You said after the match when you first saw the draw and saw you were playing Venus you were hoping just to be out there for an hour. What do you think of her age and coming back at her age and having the great year she had last year?
JOHANNA KONTA: I think it would be silly to look at Venus' age and somehow consider that as a reflection of her level. I think it's irrelevant how old she is because she's such a champion with so much experience and so much knowledge about the game.

Even if she's playing with one leg out there, you've got to really take care of things on your own, because, yeah, no, she's an incredible player. I have all the respect for her in the world. Yeah, I was just very, really enjoying my time out there.

Q. You have quite a good record against the top players. What do you attribute that to? Do you feel any intimidation when you're up against a top-10 player?
JOHANNA KONTA: I would say recently I have had better success against top-10 player, but previously I lost just as much as I won. I think it's just an accumulation of having opportunities to play against such players, and, yeah, to really start feeling comfortable on these sorts of stages, as, you know, I'd like to one day spend most of my time on these stages.

Yeah, no, I think it's time and experience getting a little older, hopefully a little wiser.

Q. Is there a straightforward reason behind your improvement, or is it multi-layered?
JOHANNA KONTA: Is anything straightforward? Definitely multi-layered and very much like my answer to the question before: It really is a process, and it's about putting in the work day in and day out and whether the knocks or the good things come. It's just being able to be not be too high or too low. Just to, yeah, keep trucking on.

Q. More mental than physical?
JOHANNA KONTA: Both. If you're not there mentally, you're not going to have much of a chance. If you're not there physically, you're not going to have much of a chance.

Q. What did you do in the offseason? Do you agree with the notion in coaching that often it's important to keep working on your strengths as well as looking at the weaknesses?
JOHANNA KONTA: To answer the first part of your question, I train my butt off. (Laughter.) I was very tired from about the second day in and I was counting down the days to work to be over.

Yeah, no secret, yeah, my passion is competing. It's being out there, fighting, and just really enjoying that experience. The training side I really put in my best to make sure that I need to do the least of that as possible. Because if I'm winning, I'm constantly being able to play matches and not having to train.

But to answer the second part of your question, yeah, definitely. I think your strengths make you what you are as a player. What you'd like to think other players would not necessarily fear you for, but are wary of.

And if you don't take care of those things, then, yeah, I guess you lose a part of your identity. Yeah, no, as much as you are working on your strengths, you're working on your weaknesses.

So, yeah.

Q. Being British, could you talk for a minute about being British and sort of what that means in terms of Wimbledon? Is Wimbledon sort of in a place by itself and then there is the rest of the circuit? Have you thought about what it would mean to you to really do well there and talk? Talk about Centre Court.
JOHANNA KONTA: I think that's very much of a press kind of question, because as a tennis player we have a full tour. We have a full schedule. It's not just Wimbledon. We have four Grand Slams, and then in and around that, we have a lot of very big tournaments and various prestigious tournaments and a lot of opportunities to, yeah, to keep giving our best.

So in terms of what Wimbledon means to me, I guess I'm in a different situation than most other British players. I didn't spend my young years there so I didn't grow up watching Wimbledon. So in that sense I'm a bit of an anomaly. But I think whenever I step out on the court, whether it is at Wimbledon, whether it is here or in Wuhan or in Timbuktu, it really is just about enjoying where I'm at at that time, and regardless who I'm playing to really knuckle down and take care of things on my end and give my best.

Q. If I could follow up but in a very different direction, it's the first time I have ever heard the phrase in a tennis press conference, Keep on trucking. What does that mean to you?
JOHANNA KONTA: Just keep going. There's a lot of highs and a lot of lows in this sport, like many elite sports.

So it really is just being able to keep as much here and not here and here as possible. (Indicating levels). If you live and die with your wins and losses, then it's a very painful road.

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