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BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 10, 2017

Johanna Konta

Indian Wells, California

J. KONTA/H. Watson

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did it feel out there? First match in a little bit.
JOHANNA KONTA: Yeah. It was my first one in a little bit. So I'm really happy to have gotten it under my belt. Get another chance to play again in a couple of days. I'm very happy about that. It's not easy playing someone from your home country, so that added an extra dimension.

A great experience overall, I think, for both of us. Yeah, very happy that I was able to play another match again.

Q. What's that relationship like, you guys, as far as how you get along and so forth?
JOHANNA KONTA: We get along great off court. We actually recently spent quite a bit of time together because of Fed Cup. We had a great Fed Cup in Estonia. We had a little bit great experiences quite recently together.

I think both of us went with the intention of giving our best and trying to do what we can to come through in the end. I was, I guess, fortunate enough I came out on top today.

Q. What's the locker room experience like in the minutes leading up when you go out? Do you sort of get into your own space?
JOHANNA KONTA: Actually, I didn't see her. I didn't see her until we were getting out, getting our buggy to the court.

Q. The foot, what exactly were the specifics with respect to the injury? How long did it take to kind of heal up and allow you to be back on court?
JOHANNA KONTA: I just got a bit of an irritated nerve. It was more about giving it time to settle down, which we did. It's doing well so far, and doing everything I can to keep that healthy, but obviously the whole body healthy. So far so good.

Q. Are you able to practice and play pain-free?
JOHANNA KONTA: Uh-huh, yeah. No, I'm all fine. All good right now (smiling).

Q. And then just today with respect -- because it was your first, at least, tour match since the Australian Open, of course you played in Fed Cup, but did you feel any match rustiness at all, whether mentally or physically, out there or did it feel like you were just right back at it?
JOHANNA KONTA: I think there is definitely an adjustment period. Like you said, I hadn't played a tour match since the Australian Open and Fed Cup was about three weeks ago. It's not that long of a time, but in terms of the tour, it's a bit of time.

Yeah, I think there were definitely some moments there I will definitely try to get better and better at as the tournament goes on, and hopefully I will get more opportunities to get more and more match fit.

Q. Did it feel like maybe a bit of a blessing in disguise to have at least those three weeks coming off of a fairly heavy January schedule and going into a grueling Fed Cup week? To actually have that time off may be a good thing?
JOHANNA KONTA: I definitely got a look from the positives of it. So in that sense, it was a bit of a blessing in disguise. I got to spend some time at home, and I also got to mentally chill out a little bit. Like you said, it was an intense January and Fed Cup is always very intense.

Hopefully I have given myself the best shot at being fresh and really just staying healthy for this next trip here.

Q. Being the top-ranked Brit, how much of an Andy Murray effect is there for you as far as attention and pressure and that sort of thing?
JOHANNA KONTA: I mean, it's nowhere near what Andy gets, I'm sure (smiling).

But I think so far everyone has been just more, I guess, generally curious about my development and how I'm doing and generally quite good support.

But I don't pay too much attention to necessarily the media that much. No offense (smiling).

Q. Go ahead, say it.
JOHANNA KONTA: And, I mean, you have heard me speak so many times, I really try to keep myself within my own process and my own, I guess, bubble in a way and just focus on my work, because that in turn will enable me to do what I love to do the most, and that's compete.

Q. Talking about the Fed Cup experience, you know, very unique obviously through the zonal play. Now you get the playoff in Romania against a pretty good Romanian team. After getting through zonal or maybe even before, was it a priority for you to try to get Britain into the World Group? Is that something that's on your priority list this year or take it as it goes.
JOHANNA KONTA: I think -- well, from the beginning of the year I was always very committed to playing in February, in the zone group thing. And definitely I think if all of us can pull together and bring us out of that zone and into the home-and-away ties, that's a big thing, because I don't know if you've ever been to one of those zone playoff things, but they are intense and they are long and they are exhausting.

I think, yeah, it would be a great thing for us to be able to get into World Group II, that's the first stage, and then obviously to move forward. But to get a home tie would be amazing.

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