BEATEN Johanna Konta admits her first thought after losing her Wimbledon semi-final to Venus Williams was: “Damn, I’m done.”
Konta’s hopes of becoming Britain’s first female singles champion at SW19 in 40 years were dashed as Williams stormed to a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
The American rolled back the years with a ruthless display on Centre Court and will now meet Spain’s Garbine Muguruza for a shot at her eighth grand slam title.
Asked what was going through her head at the finish, Konta said: “Damn, I’m done. Then it was like, ‘Oh OK, well, I’m done’.
“And then it was, ‘Oh, thank you to everyone’. It was truly magnificent, the support that I had. I wanted to acknowledge the crowd.”
Konta had chances, particularly towards the end of the first set when she opened up two break points at 4-4.
Williams saved both, the second with an 106-mile-per-hour second serve, and then made Konta pay by breaking herself to clinch the set.
The 37-year-old is bidding to become the oldest female major winner in the Open era but for all her brilliance, Konta can be proud of her maiden run to the semi-finals at the All England Club.
She insists she can challenge again.
“I definitely feel like there’s no reason why I would not be able to be in a position to win a title like this one day,” Konta said.
“Quite honestly, I think I was in with just as much of a shot of winning this tournament here. I think today it came down on the day, and Venus played better than me.”
Konta was playing only her second grand slam semi-final, having reached the last four at the Australian Open last year, while Williams was into her 22nd.
When Williams was playing her first match in the Wimbledon main draw 20 years ago, Konta had just turned six.
“Did experience play a part? I’m sure to a certain extent, definitely,” Konta said. “This was my second grand slam semi-final and it was her 202nd I bet so she definitely came into the match with a lot more experience than I did.
“But in terms of how comfortable I felt out there and how focused I was on what I wanted to try and achieve out there, I felt really comfortable.”
Konta’s run means she will rise from No 7 to No 5 in the world when the rankings list updates on Monday and four if Muguruza wins the title.
“It’s a nice achievement,” Konta said. “I guess it’s a nice club to be a part of.”
While the 26-year-old winds down, Williams turns her attention to Muguruza and winning her sixth singles title at Wimbledon.
She will also ask for some tips from her youngster sister Serena, who is taking time off for her pregnancy and beat Muguruza in the final here in 2015.
“I definitely will ask her,” Williams said. “I’m sure she’s going to give me hopefully some things that will make a difference for me in the match.”
Williams has now played Konta six times, with their victories split at three each.
On Konta’s potential, Williams added: “She played an amazing tournament.
“I feel like she wants these majors, she’ll have an opportunity.”
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