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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPENAugust 16, 2014Serena WilliamsCINCINNATI, OHIO S. WILLIAMS/C. Wozniacki J. WAYNE RICHMOND: There are only a handful players I can tell you that every summer come out and support the North American tournaments. Serena has done it year after year. Came back from an Olympic win, got through Stanford, won the Open that year. Every time she wins Stanford she either wins the Open or she gets to the finals. So I'm assuming you'll see her at the finals at the US Open. The reason we wanted to do this award is to just really thank those players who come in and support what we're trying to do in America. American tennis kind of gets kicked around, and people like Serena keep us going. If I could present this to you again. This is getting to be annual occasion for Serena and myself. And, she set some history: First female player to win it back‑to‑back and first player ever to have the chance to win this trophy and the Open two years in a row. No one has ever done that. SERENA WILLIAMS: Thank you so much. THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Talk about the beginning of the match. Didn't look like you were all the way mentally into it until the beginning of the second set. Would you agree with that? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, no, I got off to a little bit of a slow start, but I was definitely in it. I just wasn't‑‑ just got off to a slow start. Just was physically grinding and get in there and really grind out everything. Q. Talking about physical, how is your lower back? Looked a little tight. SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it was definitely feeling super tight in the match. That's when I really relaxed, to be honest. By then I was able just to go for more shots and come to the net more and just kind of just not have anything to lose. Q. She was able to break you eight times in the match, three times in the third. What was she doing well or what were you not doing well with your service games? SERENA WILLIAMS: She is a really good returner and she was getting everything back. She just made some good shots. And then not only after the return, she was able to play some really good points. Yeah, so just she was able to do that really well. Q. Looked like you were going big on some of those serves today, more than usual. Had to do with maybe wanting to shorten the points? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, just had to go for rockets because I wasn't feeling great. I thought, Listen, I'm going to go out and just try to hit aces and see what happens. It started working for me. I was like, Okay. Hopefully my arm will be okay tomorrow. We'll see. Q. You two got to No. 1 playing pretty different styles of tennis, you and Caroline. You think there is still room for offense and defense to be successful? SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, for sure. I for sure think that. She's still playing great tennis, and even better than what she's been playing in the past couple years. She's really taking that defensive game and really just doing well with it. She also has added a lot of offense to her game and trying to go for some shots. She does both really well. Q. What have you seen? You've had some easy wins over her the past couple years. These last two weeks were pretty tough. SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, she's just really ‑‑ I think her serve has obviously improved a lot. Also, I think she just gets an extra ball back and makes you just play an extra point, an extra shot, which can be difficult at times. Q. What does it mean to you to win another US Open Series title? SERENA WILLIAMS: It means a lot to me. I'm really excited. I feel like I played three events this year and I really wanted to be there and wanted to support the American tournaments. More than anything, I wanted to play matches. I love playing in the USA. I played two in America, but there is just‑‑ you know, I just wanted to be there. Just feels so good it be an American and play in America. Just a wonderful feeling to, at the end of the US Open Series, to be able to win it. It's really cool. Q. Sometimes players go two, three years apart without playing somebody, and yet you played Caro two weeks in a row. How is that preparing any differently from someone you just played not too long ago? SERENA WILLIAMS: It's good. You know, I played Sam here as well, so it was fine. Just, if anything, I think it's easier to play someone back to back as opposed to waiting a few weeks or a year or so. Q. When you talk about fatigue or not feeling physically at your best today, is that a accumulative effect of the play, or is there something more acute happening, like picked up a niggle or something? SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I'm fine. Just played a lot of tennis in three weeks. I've won one, semis in another. I've just going, going, going, going. So that's it. Just a little wear and getting my body used to playing matches, because my body is not used to playing a lot of matches anymore this year. So, yeah, have to get my body back to that. Q. What would be a good US Open for you? SERENA WILLIAMS: I mean, obviously to win it would be great, but we'll see. Hopefully I'll do‑‑ I'll do the best I can regardless. Q. What's your mentality in terms of the approach though? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, mentality is great I feel like heading into the hard court season. Has been really good for me. I'm really enjoying it. I love the surface at the Open, so... I feel like I do really well on it. I look forward to it. Q. Just sort of an off beat question, when you're watching in the stands or playing, you ever thought about what it would be like to be a line judge and have to call those balls? SERENA WILLIAMS: I have thought about it. I thought about it once. I was sitting‑‑ taking a water break where they sit, and when you look at the line, it's pretty intense. Q. Can you imagine? Because the ball gets hit hard really close to the line quite a lot. SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, quite often. Yeah, I'm pretty good with my challenges. I think I'll be a pretty good line judge. Q. You ever tried it in practice or anything? SERENA WILLIAMS: No, no. Don't have time. I have to practice. Q. You plan on playing doubles with Venus in the Open? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes, we're entered. We're going to play. Q. Your playing Ana or Maria next. Thoughts about that? SERENA WILLIAMS: It would be a great final. Obviously to play Maria would be wonderful. She's had such a great year and she's doing well and fighting incredibly well. Ana would be even better. I think all our matches have gone three sets this year. Haven't been any easy matches. So that would be really intense match for me. Regardless, I have a lot of work cut out for me. Regardless, I've got this trophy and that was the goal, so yay. Q. For someone that's accomplished so much, what does this tournament, a chance at this tournament title, mean for you at this stage of your career? SERENA WILLIAMS: It would mean a lot. I haven't had an opportunity to win this one. It's a tournament in the States. It would be great for me and for American tennis. So I will do the best that I can and go with that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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