Sometimes you can learn as much about a player by listening to a truly knowledgeable observer, as much as by listening to the player herself – and observers don’t come much more truly knowledgeable than Billie-Jean King.
So when examining Johanna Konta’s post-match take on her ground-breaking run to the semi-finals at Wimbledon 2017, it pays to look at the Briton’s words through the prism of King’s insight.
“Clarity is a big part of being a great player, being clear about what you’re trying to do,” says King. “Jo has that – staying with her plan, no matter what. She’s so articulate. She’s honest. She thinks a lot and feels a lot, and when she puts those two together, she’s indomitable.”
That was precisely the Johanna Konta who arrived for her press conference, after falling short in her attempt to become the first British woman in a Wimbledon final for 40 years. These Q&A sessions habitually take place when defeat is still an agonising exposed nerve, and often the best that many players can do is to parrot by rote the positive life lessons to be drawn.
Konta does something more. That organised mind of hers had already rationalised the wheat of experience from the chaff of defeat. It was clear from the moment she sat down that she was at one with this loss at the hands of Venus Williams, her competitive gaze focused productively ahead.
So when asked what she needs to do to win this Championship another year, she replied: “Honestly, I think I was in with just as much of a shot of winning this tournament here. Today it came down to the day, and Venus played better than me. The few opportunities that I did get, she did incredibly well to take them away from me.
“Making the top five [as Konta will, when next Monday’s rankings are released] is nice. But I’m not satisfied. There are a lot of exciting things that I can still get better at, which is exciting for me and exciting for my team, and my own development.”
That’s Konta for you – Grand Slam semi-final defeat is a different kind of “exciting”. It is not an end, but another beginning.
If anyone had anticipated tears, they were looking at the wrong player. She smilingly compared her own second Grand Slam semi-final to Williams’ “202nd, I bet” (22nd, actually, for those feeling picky); she laughed in self-conscious delight at the concept of “Kontamania”; and grinned as she helpfully corrected the journalist who suggested Venus had delivered a 160mph second serve. So what was going through her mind as she left the court in defeat?
“Damn,” recalled Konta with a smile. “I’m done.”
Then she added, in words that would have had Billie-Jean King nodding approval: “I was incredibly happy with the level I was able to produce 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.
“Don't get me wrong. I would like to be sitting here enjoying the fact that I would be playing here on Saturday. But 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 enjoying it – that itself has made me better.”
Meanwhile, that mention of Kontamania removed her just for a moment from her bubble of rationalisation.
“It's just incredibly humbling,” she said. “It's something that is greater than me, and my focus on my match and my performance, and trying to improve. It does bring it slightly out of context, and makes me realise how special that is and how much people enjoy being a part of my journey.”
There is an esteemed school of thought which believes that use of the dreaded J-word – so often the favoured cheap currency of reality shows – merits a mandatory prison sentence. But in this case, it fitted the bill.
J-for-Johanna is on her J-for-journey, and she won’t be satisfied until she’s at the T-for-top.
