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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 10, 2016

Johanna Konta

Rome, Italy

J. KONTA/J. Larsson

6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Tell us about the match today. It's your first win on clay this year?
JOHANNA KONTA: Yes, it was. My third tournament on clay so far this season, and, yeah, I'm definitely happy to have just played another match on here and given myself an opportunity to play again tomorrow. I think that's the best feeling to come out of this and obviously to spend another day here in this great city.

Q. Talk about the way you played today.
JOHANNA KONTA: I'm very happy with how I dealt with the conditions. It was quite windy out there, and the conditions here are quite heavy. Just very happy to have dealt with the cards that were given to me.

Yeah, coming through some of the close games out there I think definitely helped my momentum. Yeah, happy to be coming back tomorrow.

Q. You're playing Roberta Vinci tomorrow, which you would imagine would be in the center court here. I wonder, have you actually even been in the main court here?
JOHANNA KONTA: I have, actually. I practiced on center I think Saturday with Carla, so I have been able to hit on there once, which is nice. It's a great court. It's actually interesting. It's much smaller than you'd expect the actual court itself, but then it goes really high up. It's quite interesting. It's definitely different.

If we are on that court, that would be a great experience, but whatever court we're going to be on, I'm sure there will be a great crowd turning up. That will be good.

Q. I was going to say the locals can be very patriotic, shall we say.
JOHANNA KONTA: It will be like a football match.

Q. Exactly. Would you look forward to that, to being the away team in that match?
JOHANNA KONTA: Oh, yeah, definitely. I have always said that just to have a crowd, whether it's for you or against you, it doesn't really matter. Just to have that noise, that energy, I think that's the most exciting as a player.

Q. We don't know yet actually if you would play on the center court or also on the other court, which the Italians like more, the Pietrangeli, the court with the statues.
JOHANNA KONTA: I will feel like a gladiator.

Q. There is more like a gladiator atmosphere. So 4, 5,000 spectators. You really feel them more than on the center court. So I'd like to know, okay, you had great results on hard courts in Australia, US Open. What about clay? Is that something that you're not too happy about playing on clay or is your favorite surface or not?
JOHANNA KONTA: I don't have a favorite surface. I have always said so, and I maintain that. I think these are new experiences for me. I have never played Madrid before and I have never played here before. I'm definitely accumulating new experiences.

On the clay court I think I definitely need to put in a lot more hours on the surface. I definitely put in a lot of hours on the hard courts in these last six, eight, ten months. I'm enjoying my time on here, and I hope to make it as long as possible.

Yeah, hopefully the work I put in on this surface now will also translate into not just next year this time but also the next surfaces that I play on. I think there is a lot of crossover no matter what surface we are playing on.

Q. I'd like to know if you have seen Roberta Vinci beating Serena Williams at the last US Open, if you remember anything about that, and what do you think of her? Have you ever played?
JOHANNA KONTA: I have never played her. I think I practiced with her once at Wimbledon a couple years ago. I mean, she's an incredibly talented player and a wonderful player at that.

I didn't actually watch the match against Serena, but I definitely saw highlights as it was played throughout that week.

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the challenge and to the opportunity. We'll see how it goes.

Q. I was going to ask you a similar question about adapting to the clay. How comfortable do you feel on this sort of surface? And as a follow-up, Madrid you weren't too well and had to retire. How are you feeling now?
JOHANNA KONTA: I was unwell in Madrid. I got a bit sick, had a bit of a fever and a chest infection. I wasn't too well, but as you can hear now, I am much, much better. That's good news.

Things like that are inevitable. They will happen throughout the year. It's just sometimes you get lucky and they happen in a training week instead of a tournament week. I'm happy to be healthy again.

In terms of the clay, I'm enjoying my time on it. I definitely feel that the more opportunities I'm able to create for myself to play matches on here, the more comfortable things will feel.

Yeah, so that's what I'm working towards.

Q. Your coaching setup is predominantly Spanish and Spain is a clay court country. When you go over there, do you practice pretty much on the clay, or...
JOHANNA KONTA: It really depends on what tournament we are preparing for. Naturally in this period of time we are on the clay, but every other time I will be on the hard. I don't go there definitely when I'm playing on grass. I stay in the UK.

Q. How about the actual process of sliding on the clay? Is that something that you're comfortable doing yet, or is that a work in process?
JOHANNA KONTA: No, I enjoy it. I think it's -- I think it's quite a lot of fun, actually. It's different than any other surface. I mean, I think I do slide a little bit on the hard here and there but obviously nothing like the clay.

I'm enjoying it for all the things that it brings to the game.

Q. A bit of a trick shot today. You managed to have one bounce on the far side of net and then come back over.
JOHANNA KONTA: Yeah, I'm not sure how much of a trick shot that was. I think it was more of a "Thank you, Mother Nature, for the wind."

But, yeah, that was interesting. I definitely apologized.

Q. Have you done that before?
JOHANNA KONTA: Has it ever bounced back? I'm sure it has. But, yeah, I'm not one of those players that would actually be able to do that on purpose. That was definitely an accident.

Q. For some reason, Roberta Vinci was never very much successful here in Rome. She played many, many years. She went only once to the third round. This is the first time she has a bye on the first round because she has never been top 10 in the previous years. Do you think there is a reason for it? I mean, maybe, you know, like many people feel the pressure when they play home? I don't know if you feel the pressure when you play at Wimbledon, for instance, or Queen's if you play Queen's.
JOHANNA KONTA: Well, fortunately I don't play at Queen's. I wish I did, but not quite the right gender for that one.

Q. Do you think pressure can be a factor?
JOHANNA KONTA: I think pressure exists everywhere and not just in tennis but in every profession in its own way. I think it's whatever -- however that's affected her, only she knows. Maybe it hasn't. Maybe she's actually played really great matches and it just hasn't gone her way on those days.

So I haven't actually watched her matches in the past here, so I wouldn't know. But tomorrow will be another day. It will be, yeah, a new experience for both of us. We haven't played each other before, so whatever level we will be able to bring to the court, that's the level we are going to play at and then make the best at it.

Q. I think you won the first 15 points today, did you?
JOHANNA KONTA: I don't know. You guys are in charge of giving me stats and all sorts of things.

Q. 14. Okay. 14. Does it ever enter your head, when you get off to such a strong start as that, do you ever think, crikey, this could be a golden set?
JOHANNA KONTA: No, trust me, that doesn't actually cross my mind. I just really try to do my best at just competing every single point, and, you know, you also keep your feet firmly on the ground saying that, you know, it is unlikely you will not lose a set because --

Q. Point.
JOHANNA KONTA: -- because you are playing another competitor who has a lot to say in how many points you win and whether you come out winning in the end. So, no, I don't think about that.

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