Jo Konta beats Venus Williams to win first WTA Tour title in breakthrough victory

JO KONTA pulled off a spectacular victory by beating Venus Williams to win her first WTA Tour title Williams at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California.

The British No1 was too strong for the five-time Wimbledon winner Williams, 36, and claimed a breakthrough 7-5 5-7 6-2 victory in two hours, 18 minutes.

Konta, 25, thumped down a stream of 100mph serves and hit 12 aces to just three from Williams, who earlier this month won the women’s doubles at Wimbledon with sister Serena.

Konta, who also beat Williams at the Australian Open, said: “It’s quite an incredibly humbling experience.

“It’s a validation of all the hard work you’ve already put in and a motivator on the things you want to keep improving on, and the lengths you might go to in order to become that much better at your discipline.

“I’ve played her twice before and knew I’d be playing a magnitude of experience. Venus Williams doesn’t need an introduction, and I knew going into that I’d need to stay focused on myself and to be really grateful for the experience and try to learn from her within the match.

“I wanted to leave it all out there, but also absorb everything that I could possibly reinvest in my career moving forward.”

Jo Konta over-powered Venus Williams by serving at more than 100mph

Five-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams was trying for her 50th career title

Konta paid tribute to the resilience and fight of the former world number one, who was looking for her 50th career title.

“Quite honestly, you’d expect nothing less from a champion,” Konta said.

“They don’t give away any match, much less a final. It was her 80th, so you could only imagine the number of different situations that she’s already been in.

“It was about keeping things in perspective, and understanding there’d be ebbs and flows in the match.

“Every single point was a battle, and I tried to win as many battles as possible.

“The simpler you keep things, the more clarity you have, and the less dumb you play.”

Wimbledon semi-finalist Williams admitted she was not at her best in the final but it was tough to keep up with Konta, who turned in one of her best performances of a remarkable season.

“Credit to her for playing great tennis; she played so well and all of her balls were landing today,” said Williams whose dad Richard, 74, suffered a stroke recently.

“It wasn’t my best day, but I tried to stay in there and fight, and that helped me get an opportunity to win the match.

“Just because it’s 4-1 doesn’t mean the match is over; it’s not a favourable scoreline if you happen to be down, but it’s not over.

“She played at such a high level today. She saved her best tennis for the final, which is what you want to do.

“She plays really well against me, so maybe she comes out and doesn’t feel any pressure and just swings for it. I tried to stay in there and fight. What can I say but give her credit.”

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