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CHINA OPENOctober 3, 2014Serena WilliamsBEIJING, CHINA THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. It was a tough match last night. We noticed you had a Band‑Aid on your left knee. Will it influence your preparation for Singapore? SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know yet. I haven't had time to get an MRI scan. I'm going to do all that and see what is the root of the problem, I think. Q. Can you say when you started to feel the pain in the knee? Was it this week, earlier in the week? How did it feel last night specifically? SERENA WILLIAMS: It was this week. It didn't feel really well last night at all. I almost didn't go on the court. I did at the last minute. I think that made it a little worse, to be honest, yeah. Q. Were you feeling it while you were in movement or just standing there? Was it throbbing? Can you describe the pain? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, it throbs just sitting, standing. I felt it mostly serving because I'm landing on my left knee. That was really killer for me. Moving was okay. I didn't really do a tremendous amount of moving. I tried to keep it less moving as possible. So, yeah, mostly serving. Q. Are you going to go back to the States or to Europe? What is your plan at this point? SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm probably going to go to Europe and see my doctors there. They have a really good system there. So yeah. Q. This is the second tournament you've had to retire early from. Just explain the frustration about that. SERENA WILLIAMS: It's really frustrating, especially from here. This is a really big tournament for me. I'm defending champ. Also it's one of the big four. Is it four or five? So as a defending champ, you always want to do your best to defend your title. That's why I played yesterday. I've got to at least give it a chance. I've done well here. This is my title. So more than anything, it's extremely frustrating. You know, I wanted to be here. To come all this way and not to take the title, it's just a waste. Q. Are you feeling the grind of the tour a little bit more this year compared to years past, or is it always hard at the end of the year to remain healthy and keep the intensity level up? Can you compare this year to years previous? SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it's always hard at the end of the year to keep the intensity up. I think the past few years I've been able to do that. I feel like I definitely want to maintain that. When I step on the court, I always give the ultimate effort, the ultimate fight that I can. It's difficult. But once I step out there, once that moment is mine, it becomes a little bit easier. Q. Just to clarify, this feels a little bit worse than just typical end‑of‑the‑season fatigue for you? SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, it's definitely not end‑of‑the‑season fatigue, no. Yeah, a little worse than that. Q. You've always said that the Grand Slams are the big thing for you. You worked extremely hard to get back to world No.1. Do you feel pressure at all to keep world No.1 with what you do away from the slams, playing in other tournaments? SERENA WILLIAMS: I do. That's why I try so hard in the other tournaments, is to have an opportunity to be No.1. For me that means a lot. Obviously I want to win the slams, but I always like being the best. I think, you know, the past several years, the effort I've been making outside of the slams and everything kind of speaks to that. Q. Venus also withdrew from her match yesterday. Did she tell you anything about that? SERENA WILLIAMS: No. She just texted me that she wasn't playing. I was very surprised. But she's been really sick. I'm staying away from her. I'm taking anti‑sick medicine so I don't get sick. She looks horrible. Q. At the end of each season, a lot of players withdraw from matches due to various injuries. Do you think health is the utmost factor to remain competitive when you want to wrap up the whole season? SERENA WILLIAMS: I think generally most players play when they're injured. At least I do. I always give an effort. It really has to be something not serious but really where I feel like I have no opportunity or I feel like I'm going to make it worse for me to withdraw. I mean, as you can see, even at Wimbledon I probably shouldn't have played. But I just give 100%. It takes a lot for me to stop. I can only answer that for myself. Q. We all know you are a perfectionist. You always want to improve yourself. What is your motivation for everything? SERENA WILLIAMS: My motivation is I always try to end up on top. I work hard to be the best. I work very hard ‑ very, very, very hard. Like I said earlier this year, hopefully my hard work will pay off. Q. So the WTA Finals in Singapore, at this point are you just going to wait and see? Is your participation in doubt at this point? SERENA WILLIAMS: I can't answer that. If I feel this way for Singapore, I don't think it's smart for me to play. Other than that, I'm just going to see how it goes. Q. As for your dress at the gala, it is very special. Did you choose this dress for yourself? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it was a Chinese designer. Her name is Ellen Barron. She chose it for me. She always does it for me every year. It's a special dress. Q. Can you talk about the doctor in Europe? Is he the permanent doctor for you? What is his evaluation of your knee situation? Do you need to go back to Europe to deal with your knee? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I'm going to go back to Europe to deal with my knee. I see a good doctor there that I like. I mean, I have some doctors in the States, but I feel like it's too far for me to go to the States for me to come back to Asia again. It's a little bit better if I just go to Europe. I haven't talked to him. I haven't seen him yet, so I can't answer that part of the question. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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