Konta disappointed, but satisfied by Wimbledon campaign

Having whipped Britain into a frenzy with her thrilling run to the semifinals, Johanna Konta’s Wimbledon campaign finally came to an end on Thursday.

The Brit found Venus Williams too tough in a 6-4 6-2 loss on Centre Court, but could take solace from a performance that by far exceeded anything she’d previously done at the All England Club.

Konta arrived at Wimbledon with a paltry 1-5 career-record, her best result a second-round loss to unseeded Eugenie Bouchard last year.

But after gritty three-set wins over Donna Vekic, Caroline Garcia and Simona Halep – all contenders for match of the tournament – en route to the semifinals, she leaves SW19 with far more positive memories this time around.

Thank you to everyone for the love and support over these past 2 weeks. ?? @Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/dIckPGp79c

— Johanna Konta (@JoKonta91) July 13, 2017

“Don’t get me wrong. I would like to be sitting here enjoying the fact that I would be playing here on Saturday. That is my preference,” Konta responded when a reporter observed that she didn’t seem too down after the loss to Williams.

“I need to take the good things that I did, but I’m also very aware of the things I can do better. I’m more than anything looking forward to working on those.

“I think I was incredibly happy with the level I was able to produce kind of day in, day out. It’s a long two weeks. I would have liked to have made it a full two weeks, but it’s okay (smiling).

“I think the way I was able to stay true to my own values and to my own focus and what I feel works for me, stay also very happy and very much enjoying the journey. I think that itself has made me better.”

The Australian-born Brit was arguably the story of the tournament.

Two years ago, when she lost to Maria Sharapova on Centre Court in the first round here, she was ranked a lowly No.126. Thanks to this year’s run, she’s projected to rise to No.4 when the new rankings are released on Monday.

Despite arriving at Wimbledon this year as a top 10 player and seeded sixth, she was still relatively unknown in her adopted country – no doubt due to her previous lack of success at Britain’s major tennis event.

That all changed with her thrilling victory over Vekic – 10-8 in the third set – on Centre Court, a match that captivated fans and vaulted her into the public eye and onto the front page of the papers.

RELATED: Konta survives Vekic in Centre Court epic

And she kept winning, becoming the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1984 to reach the quarters, and the first since the beloved Virginia Wade to reach the semis in almost 40 years.

“I’m definitely happy that there’s more attention and more, I guess, yeah, good feelings towards tennis and being involved in this great sport,” Konta said.

“I think it can only be a positive thing at home. But I’d like to think that Andy (Murray) has inspired both girls and boys to play. I’d like to think that I’m doing the same, both girls and boys.”

Yet Venus proved too high a hurdle to clear.

Konta was accepting of the result, praising the high level Williams produced to reach an incredible ninth Wimbledon final in 20 appearances at the All England Club.

“She dictated the match from the very first ball till the very last one. I think she just showed her true qualities and why she’s a five-time champion here, just a true champion that she is,” Konta said.

“It was very difficult for me to get a good foothold in the match. The few opportunities that I did get, she did incredibly well to take them away from me.

“I don’t think I did too much wrong out there. I think it was all credit to her.”

And so Konta departs with her profile boosted, her ranking still rising, motivation to keep improving and the belief that if she finds herself in a similar position at a Grand Slam, she’ll have the mental and physical tools to thrive.

That can only bode well when she returns to Wimbledon a year from now in front of an adoring home crowd.