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WIMBLEDON

July 4, 2016

Serena Williams

London, England

S. WILLIAMS/S. Kuznetsova
7‑5, 6‑0

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You seemed extremely dialed in and focused. Played a great match.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I felt like I was really dialed in, focused today, yesterday, and a little bit of the match before just towards the end. So, yeah, I'm just here to do the best I can.

Q. There seemed to be a complete change. Before you went off, it was really tight. You come back on, bang. What is the explanation for that?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I had a little time to think about it and just calm down, really just relax. Both Svetlana and I had an opportunity to talk to our coaches. I think that really helped me out a lot.
I talked to Patrick. He gave me some tips on what I could do. I just was able to do that.

Q. I think you're the second player in the tournament to threaten to sue over the rain coming down and play still continuing. Do you think the tournament are taking seriously the welfare of the players when it comes to the rain?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think they're doing a great job with that.

Q. What did you and Patrick talk about, especially against Svetlana? What gave you that next gear?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, obviously I'm not going to say what we talked about. But I can say it was things that obviously helped, you know, helped me get through it.

Q. You must have felt quite strongly about it. Threatening a lawsuit is quite an extreme measure.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, you guys, don't even try me like that.
I was in the moment. I was on the court. What I say on the court, whether it's smashing my racquets or it's in the heat of the moment... I have no plans, no future of suing Wimbledon. Let's get serious. That's not what I do. That's not what I am.
I'm not answering any more questions about that, nor will I want anyone reporting that either. That's just completely absurd and wrong.

Q. When it's wet, how bad was it out there? How much did you fear there might be an injury as a result of the rain?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, playing on the grass is a little tricky because, you know, we don't even start play till 10:00 for practice because of the dew, the morning dew on the grass. You can definitely slide. It's very slippery out there.

Q. I'm sure you heard that Venus reached the quarterfinals here for the first time since 2010. A lot of people counted her out over the years. How inspiring do you find her performance here, getting back to this elite level she's playing at?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It's great. I feel like she knows how to play. I say this constantly. I feel like she's my best opponent, my toughest opponent.
Yeah, she was playing great last year. I think she got to the quarters of Australia last year. So she's been doing a lot of improvements. That's been really good for her and super encouraging for me.

Q. Next you play an opponent you've played a few times, Pavlyuchenkova. She's never beaten you, but you've never played her on grass. What do you see that you will be facing against her?
SERENA WILLIAMS: She's a really good player, you know. We've had some tough matches in the past. I just know that going into that match, I definitely need to be ready.
I've lost to players that's never beaten me in the past in some big situations. I definitely don't want that to happen.

Q. Can you talk to Patrick, his X and O skills, but also what he brings to the bigger picture, being supportive to you, psychologically seeing the big picture?
SERENA WILLIAMS: He's very calm. Sometimes I don't understand because I'm really worked up a lot, as you can see. I'm really worked up a lot and I do a lot of things.
He's just so sangfroid all the time. I think that really helps me. It helps me realize that when I'm calm, I usually can find answers and I can usually come through in big matches that I want to.

Q. Does his knowledge of the details, reading a match, does that help you significantly?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think he has great knowledge of what he does. I think he's been a wonderful coach to me. Actually, before me as well. That's one of the reasons I was open to working with him, because he's good at what he does. He's great at what he does.

Q. Her mobility is outstanding, she's a great retriever. Your ground game looked really sharp. What are the keys for you on grass and how are you able to get to so many balls, crack those unbelievable backhands?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I move very well, as well ‑ especially when I want to (smiling). Yeah, I guess I've been wanting to lately just kind of get out there and pretty much get every ball back.
That's one thing I've been working on, is my defensive game. I feel like I've got an extremely strong defensive game, and always have throughout my career. I wanted to bring it up to par again the way it was, so...
I'm glad you noticed.

Q. Are there specific drills that you work on to enhance your defense?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, there are definitely drills I do, things I didn't do as much. I rely on my speed. I feel like any ball I want to get to, I can pretty much get to it. Usually I do want to get to every ball. I think sometimes not practicing some of those drills as much, you might lose a step. But once I practice it, I can get it back immediately.

Q. You sat in that chair many times and said that you and Venus talk about everything. Now that you both are in the quarterfinals, have you had a giggle about maybe being in the final again?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Not yet. I have to play Pavlyuchenkova, who plays really tough tennis. Honestly, I'm just focused on that match. I'm sure she's focused on her match, too.

Q. Several players have said they enjoy collecting the Wimbledon towels. What do you think of the Wimbledon towels and what sort of collection do you have?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I have an antique collection because I've been here so long. I think my towels date back to a different millennium, literally.

Q. How big is the collection?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It's big. I've lived with Venus for most of my life. Now that we've separated, I think I'm going to have to figure out which ones are mine, which ones are hers.

Q. You said that Patrick calmed you down a little bit in the break. Had Svetlana got to you a little bit? How worried were you?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I just feel like I get so frustrated sometimes. I'm so intense on the court. I give 200% every time I'm out there, every single point. Sometimes I just need to take a deep breath and relax. I just needed to do that.
I can do that on the timeouts. That's one thing the past four years I've been really doing a lot of, just really taking a deep breath, recollecting myself. I had a little more time to do it this time.

Q. You would have done it without Patrick anyway, without the rain delay?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Winners find a way, I assume, so...

Q. Patrick does the scouting on all of your next opponents pretty thoroughly. When do you sit down and talk about that? Tonight? Prematch tomorrow?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Just prematch.

Q. What are those chats like? Several minutes? He's just giving you bullet points?
SERENA WILLIAMS: You can get a really good look into these chats if you check out my documentary called 'Serena'.

Q. I've seen it.
SERENA WILLIAMS: For anyone else that wants to know about it.

Q. Do you find that at tournaments where you do well, do you look back and say, Yeah, that's when things really turned, that's when things happened? Does that happen to you?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Sometimes it does. Sometimes I feel like things click and they don't. So nowadays I just stay in the moment each match.
I think last year I felt like I really didn't feel like it clicked, you know, in several matches. This year, I felt like it clicked, and it didn't. Now I'm just honestly just going and trying to win each match I play, focused just on that opponent.

Q. Could you talk about your intensity. Do you feel it's just you? Is it something you embrace and love? Do you step away and say, Whoa, a bit too much?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I mean, it's no secret, I'm a very intense player. I'm so passionate at my job, just like you guys are with writing. I hope you are just as passionate. This is what I do, and I love what I do.
I wake up since I was three years old to do this. These are the moments that I live for. The passion and the intensity that I have is what makes me Serena. I can't change, nor would I ever want to be different.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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