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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2017

Johanna Konta

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

J. KONTA/E. Makarova

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Talk about the game, the match.
JOHANNA KONTA: Yes, I'd love to. I think I was really happy with the level I was able to bring from the very beginning, and I think, because of the way I played from the start, I made it difficult for her to get into the match.

I don't think she did much wrong, but I think I made it difficult for her at the beginning, and then she did a really good job in shift the momentum at the beginning of the second set.

Again, I don't think I did too much wrong there, either. It was just a slight shift in momentum and she started playing better. I'm happy I was able to then hang in there in that set and just -- I trusted in the system that I was bringing to the court and what I was trying to achieve out there against her. I trusted in that, and -- so, yeah, happy to have come through.

Q. You said on court you spent a lot of your childhood watching Serena. Do you remember any particular matches that come to mind, or did you ever see her live, for example, as well?
JOHANNA KONTA: I don't believe I did, but just because of the longevity of her career, it's impossible for me not to grow up not seeing her play.

Yeah, I mean, I don't think Serena Williams needs an introduction with everything that she's achieved in this sport and continues to do so.

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the challenge, and I'm looking forward to being on court, out on court with her and competing against her.

Q. You said the other day that you were surprised how you close out sets and matches as if it was any routine service game. Where do you draw that confidence in those big moments?
JOHANNA KONTA: I think more than anything it's more trying to disassociate myself from the importance of the moment. I think it's more keeping things in perspective and not panicking if I were to lose that service game or that point.

I think, yeah, just keeping things in good perspective and just having trust in myself that however the match will swing, I will always be there to give my best and to always try to, yeah, leave it all out on court and fight till the very end.

Q. Would you have served many better sets than the first set today?
JOHANNA KONTA: I think I have consistently been serving quite well, I think, this tournament so far. Again, it's not always the case every day, and I think even within the match there are some better service games than others.

But I'm very happy with, also, some of the games, especially where it's not just about my serve and how I'm able to back it up behind it, more how I'm able to build the point and how I'm able to, yeah, stay strong within the points.

Q. Nicole Gibbs said the other day after losing to Serena it's very difficult to separate the player from the icon and the success. I mean, how important will that be for you? Is that possible to do that?
JOHANNA KONTA: I guess I need to be on court with her against her first, to see how I deal with things and how I feel playing her.

I have been fortunate enough that I have played her sister a few times, and I think she's just as incredible in what she's achieved in the sport. I mean, it's, again, no introduction needed.

I have played, over the last year and a half, quite a few Grand Slam champions and some former world No. 1s.

So I have accumulated, I think -- I have prepared myself as much as possible to play a competitor like Serena.

So I'm just -- yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to trying, more than anything. I'm looking forward to just leave it all out there and give it my best.

Q. Was there ever a time when you would, say, be walking through the corridors at Wimbledon or something and see some very leading player and be kind of intimidated and a little bit shy?
JOHANNA KONTA: I don't think -- I don't really get shy, I don't think. I mean -- well, I don't think I'm the opposite, either. I don't know.

I feel I have a lot of respect for every single player on tour, whether they are multiple Grand Slam champions, whether they are former world No. 1, whether they have been around 60 or 100 for their whole career.

I think that respect comes from the knowledge that, to a certain extent, we all kind of know what the other person has gone through to get to where they have, the early years, the journey, the tough times, the victories.

I think that's where my respect for every player comes from. I respect that they have been working just as hard as I have, so I don't think -- it's almost trying to relate to every player there. That's why I don't necessarily feel I would get too shy around anyone.

Q. Serena said that she's been following your game a lot. She's been sort of keeping an eye on it. Does that make you feel that perhaps you've got her worried? Because she's been following your game a lot.
JOHANNA KONTA: Well, that's nice to hear, but I don't necessarily think that Serena Williams possibly gets too worried. Just the amount of experience she has, I'm sure she's got her system and her method for preparing for every match, regardless who she plays, and I'm sure she's going to be applying that method against me.

So I think -- yeah, I just hope we play a great match and that we bring a good level and so the crowd will enjoy it and will get into it.

Yeah, I'm just looking forward to whatever -- I think it's Wednesday -- holds. Yes, it's Wednesday, right?

Q. When you talk about disassociating yourself from the big moments, obviously a lot of players struggle to do it, and I'm sure you struggled to do it five years ago. Why is that so difficult for most players? Why was it difficult early on to kind of be able to not be overwhelmed by the importance of moments in a match?
JOHANNA KONTA: I think it's difficult, because you have also got to put things in perspective. Everyone you see playing has been playing since they were a little girl. And it's no secret that to get to whatever sport or even whatever area of life, if you want to be part of the elite and if you want to get to the top of your field, there will be numerous sacrifices you'll need to make.

And I think when you get to a position where you might see a glimmer of what you have dreamed of as a little girl or what you hoped for, what you've worked so hard for, it can feel kind of an all-or-nothing moment or what if I never get this chance again?

I think it's more a bit of possibly fear of being able to replicate the position you're in more than anything, but then I think that's where you have also got to have a good perspective on things, and you've got to keep, I guess, the simple things in mind of what's important to you. Are you healthy? Is your family healthy? Do you have people around you that you love? Do you have people around you that love you?

I know it might sound really mundane and simple, but I guess you've got to, I guess, go back to things that have got substance, and then in the end just trust in the work that you do, if it's in the cards for you that you will get another opportunity or you won't, I think, really love the sport for what it is and be grateful for the opportunities that it brings you, not necessarily what you wish it would.

Q. You talked about sacrifice. Can you be a little bit more specific and say what you feel you have sacrificed by going on this journey, being a tennis pro?
JOHANNA KONTA: How long do we have, guys? (Smiling.)

Without getting too personal, because obviously those types of conversations are very personal. No offense, guys. I know we're close, but we're not that close (smiling).

But it's also not necessarily just your own personal sacrifice. It's also the people around you. No one makes it on their own. Even though this is an individual sport, you rely on a support system. Whether that's your parents, whether other family members, whether it's close friends, or the coaching team you have from a very young age, I think it becomes -- it's not just a job. It's a way of life.

And all of you live and breathe it and really put every inch of yourself into it to try and get to here, really.

So I think along the way, like with anything, you will find difficulties. You will move continents. You will -- not me personally, but I know a lot of players, you will have some career-threatening injuries.

So there are different things that life throws at you, and I think it's in the face of that where you, yeah, where you try to push through and then continue to, I guess, keep hope more than anything and keep working.

Q. Serena is 35. I don't know how long she's going to be playing for. Would you have felt your career was complete if you hadn't had a chance to play her in a big match like this?
JOHANNA KONTA: Interestingly, I was thinking that I would love the opportunity to be on court with her before she retired, but I doubt she's talking retirement.

She doesn't seem like someone who will be talking like that. I think she will be playing until the very last ball she can possibly physically hit, I think.

Yeah, I'm happy that I'm getting the chance to play her, and hopefully it won't be the last time before she retires.

Q. Going back to the separating yourself from the importance of the moment, in that nanosecond where the little voice in your ear goes, Psst, it's match point, what is the trigger that you can shut that voice out, and how long does that take for it to become automatic?
JOHANNA KONTA: I don't think it's about necessarily, for me personally, anyway, about shutting it out. It's more accepting that, Oh, I have got a little bit of tension. Or accepting that my mind might be yapping away, not necessarily fighting against it, but relaxing into it and saying, It's absolutely normal to think like this.

I think it's then easier for your motions to take over more than anything because you've got to trust the tennis in you, the motions in you, years and years of playing that I'm all of a sudden not going to forget how to serve. I have been doing it, I don't even know how long, so I think it's more just having that trust in the repetitions that you've had over the years.

Q. How much do you believe you can win this match? I mean, you've had a great start to the year. You must see this as a great opportunity.
JOHANNA KONTA: I believe in my own ability. I believe in the good things that I bring to the court, and I believe in my ability to fight till the very end.

Now, there's that and then there's also an opponent out there, and this one's going to be Serena Williams. I think it's about playing, me going out there and doing what I want to do against her, and it will be about just staying focused on that. And if that brings me good things on that day, and if that puts me in a position to come through, then that's great.

But I've got to focus on the work and not think of whether I can or cannot beat her. Yeah, I just need to stay on the work.

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