“I feel very, very comfortable and very assured in the fact that I did do the best that I can, the best that I could out there,” she said, noting rightly how “incredibly blustery” it had been when she took those attacking options.
Yet Vondrousova held firmer and in the decisive tie-break played superbly while Konta faltered. The Briton had no arguments; she’d been well beaten.
“I think she reads the game really well and she has that added variety with the way the ball comes back,” said Konta. “I think she generally enjoys playing the game, that's how it feels out there, she competes really well, as well, there are very few drop-offs from how she plays. She asks you a lot of questions out there, and I think that's a real gift of hers.”
Hometown hero
It’s a gift that Vondrousova, who hails from the little western Czech town of Sokolov, presents with a smiling face. “It's a long journey. Of course, I'm 19. But when I was 16, I wasn't like this, but it's almost like I'm having so much fun on court. I'm playing good," she said.
“It’s, like, 20,000 (people in Sokolov), really small. I'm getting so much messages also from, like, my hometown, and also my mom. She's talking with so many people out there, and it's very nice. You don't have so much people playing final of Grand Slam there. So it's amazing.
“I think everybody's going to know me now!”