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BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL

January 1, 2019

Johanna Konta

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

J. KONTA/S. Stephens

6-4, 6-3

Q. Cheerio.
JOHANNA KONTA: Yes.

Q. Nice win today.
JOHANNA KONTA: Thank you.

Q. Can you just assess your level in the match? What were you pleased with?
JOHANNA KONTA: I think -- well, I mean I knew going into the match that Sloane is going to be playing very well and that there will be pockets of time where I might have very little say in the match. She's an incredibly gifted athlete and player and she can raise her level in part. So I was definitely going into the match just not really expecting anything or anticipating anything and more just playing each point as it came and try to just really react well for the balls that were coming off of her racquet, and obviously being clear on how I wanted to play my points as well.

I think the first three games took like half an hour, so it was very, very close at the beginning, a lot of close games, and I mean we pretty much maintained like that throughout the whole match. So I'm just happy I was able to maintain a good level and really just come through.

Q. And the work you were doing in the off season with Dimitri -- Sloane was kind of saying that she was at least happy that she played the way that she was trying to practice, the new game style. Were there things that you had been working on in the off season that you kind of stuck to your guns with today that you felt went well?
JOHANNA KONTA: For sure. I think I was looking to just play with a bit more awareness out there as well. I have a tendency to sometimes overplay a little bit or play a little bit with tunnel vision. So I'm definitely trying to be out on court with just a bit more awareness to how my opponent is playing, the kind of balls that my opponent is hitting and trusting in my ability to adapt well and also mold myself in a way that I'm most effective against the opponent that I have. So I was definitely trying to incorporate that as much as I can.

And I mean fundamentally I play a certain way, and the day I stop playing like that will be the day I stop playing because it's how I play. It's what works for me. But, yeah, definitely trying to just play with a bit more awareness.

Q. Do you feel compared to 12 months ago mentally fresher coming into this season than maybe last year?
JOHANNA KONTA: Not necessarily fresher. I think I am coming into this season with different challenges than I had last year. I think generally, yeah, it's just a bit different. I don't feel necessarily fresher. I think I had a much tougher preseason this past preseason than I had the past number of ones. I think it was one of the most difficult ones that I've had in my career so far, so it was a good bit of work that had been put in. And I think, yeah, if anything, I'm probably more looking forward to play just because the preseason is over.

Q. No more practice.
JOHANNA KONTA: (Laughs).

Q. And your draws in Brisbane have never been the easiest ones, at least the last couple of years.
JOHANNA KONTA: Yeah.

Q. Last year when you played that great match against Madison, you kind of said that the both of you were violently pushed into not being rusty.
JOHANNA KONTA: Yes.

Q. Was there a little bit of that you felt like today where there just wasn't really a choice, I suppose, to play differently?
JOHANNA KONTA: I think generally just the way the tour is, you don't really have the luxury of having many rusty matches anymore. I think also, I mean, at the end of the day, I mean I played my last match maybe eight weeks ago. So it's a little bit of a different situation than I had last year where it was a good three months or even more that I hadn't played a match. So I think I didn't feel massively rusty out there. I felt quite prepared, but I think that's also just also how you approach the matches. I was trying to just really enjoy being back out there, enjoy playing against a player like Sloane, and, yeah, just try to incorporate the things that I had worked on and also just enjoy being myself out there.

Q. Did you feel as though -- I mean I guess today with the win, is it a significant win for you, other than it's a win that allows you to stay in the tournament and play another match in the second round, it's a Top 10 opponent. It's been a while from getting to get that win. What do you take from this win over Sloane?
JOHANNA KONTA: I mean I definitely take the fact that I beat a very good player. Like I said, she's Top 10 and she's had an incredible couple of seasons. Yeah, I definitely take a lot of good things from that and a lot of just, bit of a pat on the back for me that I competed well against one of the best players in the world and I came through. We have a lot of battles against some of the best players in the world where you just miss out, and it's always nice when you are able to come through. So I'm obviously taking good, yeah, kind of good steps forward with that.

But I don't know. I think it's always important to also not go too high with any win or not too low with any loss. Fundamentally it was a first round and it's given me a chance to compete now in the second round. So outside of those facts -- and the other fact is, yeah, I got to beat a very good player.

Q. On court you said that -- when they were talking about you trying to get back what you had two years ago, you said I'm trying to do something new, I'm not trying to look back and accomplish that. Not every player can make that mental transition and shed the expectations that maybe sometimes follow players throughout their career.
JOHANNA KONTA: Yes.

Q. So do you feel like you have or you're good?
JOHANNA KONTA: I'm definitely -- I've always been very active and vocal and I'm never trying to recreate anything that I had, because, one, it's fundamentally impossible even if you reach the same round in the same tournament, it's guaranteed the journey and the general -- the whole thing will be different. So I think it's a lot of energy wasted trying to either hold onto something that you had or trying to recreate something you had because it's just fundamentally impossible. So I always try to look forward. I always try to stay very present, but with the intention of creating something new, something exciting. I want to do well in tournaments. I want to be in the latter stages of tournaments, so I keep working towards that. If I get to do it at the Australian Open again, yay! If I get to do it again at Wimbledon, yay! If it's at the French or the US Open, yay! So obviously just looking to, yeah, keep moving forward.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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