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WIMBLEDON

June 30, 2016

Johanna Konta

London, England

E. BOUCHARD/J. Konta
6‑3, 1‑6, 6‑1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Tight match. Where do you think was the turning point?
JOHANNA KONTA: I didn't think there was any specific turning point. I mean, even in that final set, I believe maybe we had, you know, one game that was 15, I think every other game was 30, deuce. It was a battle every single point. She was able to string together a few more points than myself.
She played very, very well. I really enjoyed being out there and competing.

Q. Are you frustrated, because you fought so well to get back into the match, then it slipped away in the third set? Is that your overriding emotion, frustration?
JOHANNA KONTA: No, no, because she had a lot to say also in the outcome of the match. It's not just myself out there alone. So it's a battle between two competitors.
I really enjoyed it. I think I've got a lot of good things to take away from that match and a lot of things I hope to implement in my development as a tennis player and as a person.
You know, I definitely would have liked to have stayed longer in the singles event here, but I'm very happy with the experience I was able to have today.

Q. How did her performance compare to what you expected from her?
JOHANNA KONTA: I went in with no real expectations of an outcome. I definitely expected her to play well. Although her ranking may have gone down over the past year, her level of tennis never went away. She is an incredibly good player with a lot of experience, in the short career she's had.
Yeah, I was expecting a tough match, and that's what it was. It was a shame I couldn't come through it. Again, I'm very, very pleased with the competition that we both got to play.

Q. How heavy was the ball coming from Bouchard? Seemed like you were both hitting it very hard.
JOHANNA KONTA: I mean, one of her strengths is she plays to take time away from her opponent. She does that very well. That wins her a lot of points and a lot of matches.
Yeah, no, I had to adapt and do my best in trying to impose myself on her. I think it was a good match. I think we were hitting it pretty hard at one point, yeah.

Q. You were ranked 126 when you played on Centre Court in the first round a year ago. Can you take some comfort from the dramatic progress you've made in the last 12 months?
JOHANNA KONTA: I'm very happy with the way I'm developing as a player. I'm hungry to keep doing so.
To have matches like these only add to the desire to keep getting better. I don't think I can quite describe how valuable these sorts of experiences are. I'm very grateful for them. I'm already just looking forward to being able to get out onto the match court again.

Q. Towards the end you had a little argument with the umpire. Wondering what that was about, something about a point that went out, I'm not quite sure.
JOHANNA KONTA: I don't know either now.

Q. You had such great results in the other slams, but not so much here. Can you explain that? Is that because of the surface, bad draws?
JOHANNA KONTA: Actually, I did better here than at French Open. I'm quite happy with that. I don't believe there's any easy or hard draws. You get the competitors that you get.
I played against two incredibly and very in‑form players. I'm actually happy about that. It's just another opportunity to be tested and continue to push my comfort zone and, yeah, my boundaries.

Q. You move on to the Olympics soon. What is going to be your preparation ahead of that?
JOHANNA KONTA: I'm definitely playing Montréal, looking to hopefully play Stanford as well.

Q. On the tour obviously you utilize the coaching. Here you're very much alone with your thoughts. Do you find that refreshing to be on your own on the court or do you miss the presence of a coach?
JOHANNA KONTA: I think there's benefits in both scenarios. I think this sport is more of a gladiatorial style, just you and another player, unless you're playing doubles, of course.
Well, for me personally, I don't think even on the main tour, when I call my coach, it's not necessarily for an answer or for him to give me the missing piece in the puzzle, because matches are very rarely decided‑‑ it's very rare that the coach will come down and says, You've got to do this, and that wins the match.
There's a lot of pieces that, you know, bring a good match together, and also a lot of push and pull, a lot of shoulder to shoulder between two players.
Yeah, I mean, here you definitely are alone with your own thoughts, but I think that also makes you better.

Q. Are you in the habit of watching your matches again and looking to see what you could have done differently?
JOHANNA KONTA: I definitely do enjoy that more and more. I think this will be a really good one to watch, as well. I think there will be a lot of good things to take from it, things that I did well, things that I can improve on.
Yeah, I definitely will be watching this one.

Q. How far do you think Bouchard can go in this tournament?
JOHANNA KONTA: Wait, let me get my crystal ball.

Q. You spent a long time playing with her. How well is she playing?
JOHANNA KONTA: All I can comment on is the match I played against her today, and she played very well. Like I said, her level of tennis has never disappeared. It doesn't just disappear like that (snapping fingers). She's an incredibly good tennis player and competitor.
I think it will also depend on her next opponent, how her next opponent plays. I'm sure they're going to have a very good battle.

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