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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 9, 2019

Alison Riske

Wimbledon, London, England

S. WILLIAMS/A. Riske

6-4, 4-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Will you sleep well tonight? Do you think you gave it all out there?
ALISON RISKE: Yeah, I definitely gave it everything I had. I'm really proud of my effort today. I definitely thought maybe I had a peek here and there at a couple openings. But Serena really upped her level, as only a champion would.

Yeah, she won the match. It was really actually very interesting for me to be on the opposite end because I felt her up her game and her intensity.

Yeah, I hope she takes the title now.

Q. At the end of the match you had the double-fault. It was because you were going for it, right?
ALISON RISKE: Yeah.

Q. Talk about how when you play Serena you feel you have to push it a little bit, have to go for more than you might in some other situation.
ALISON RISKE: Yeah, actually that double-fault in particular, the point before that I think kind of was still on my mind. I didn't let go of it. She guessed right at the net and hit a winning volley, and I should have put that shot away, which irritated me.

But I think that it's no secret that Serena has an amazing serve. But Serena has an equally as amazing return. I've never played anyone that has a return like Serena. That put a lot of pressure on my serve.

I was then more cognizant of when I was missing my first serve. Wow, here I go serving another second serve, she's probably going to throw this down my throat.

It does put a lot of pressure on you just because she starts points unlike anyone else on tour. I thought she did that exceptionally well today and I was definitely feeling the pressure.

Q. 15 sets, five matches, we didn't expect less. A couple of double-faults were not good. You had 100% of breakpoints converted, five out of five. It's not easy to break Serena five times. Did you get used to her serve, read it enough well?
ALISON RISKE: Yeah, I actually thought I did a very good job in my return games against Serena. I unfortunately, again, wasn't able to do as well on my serve. That's because Serena's return is exceptional.

It was kind of a Catch-22. I really did as best I could, and it was all credit to Serena for being able to take it to me, really make things happen.

Q. How would you describe what makes the walk from the locker room to Centre Court here different from any other experience in tennis?
ALISON RISKE: Yeah, well, I've only done it a few times. But today I think was extra special because it was something that I've never been this far in the event. It was extra special for me.

But you just feel like you're about to be a part of something very unique and very rare. You're passing club members who obviously have probably excelled in something very special, people that you know have probably done very well in life, are just excited to watch a good tennis match.

Everything inside the clubhouse is very classic and traditional. It's just a very special walk passing all different kinds of people.

So I don't know. It was very special. Yeah, I'll always remember it.

Q. What are some of the different things you see on the walls, on the ground in that long walk?
ALISON RISKE: Yeah, to be quite honest, I was looking at the ground the entire time, so I can't really tell you too much about that.

Like I said, the decor, from what I saw on the carpets, was really traditional (smiling), really classic. Again, you also have Phil Brooks, Jill Brooks [sic] were there greeting you before you go on the court and after, as well. A couple people I did not know.

Yeah, just very, very special atmosphere. Probably the best walk. It would only be better if you won.

Q. In the third set I think you were 2-1 up and serving, it was deuce. Serena changed her racquet. From where we were, from TV, didn't look like she had broken a string or damaged a racquet. What is your feeling about that? Typically we'd look at that as a little bit of a no-no.
ALISON RISKE: I didn't think anything of it. I do that sometimes as well. She might have just felt -- you know, maybe the racquet was too loose, too tight, who knows. I didn't think anything of that.

Q. You seem like a very verbal person, good with the racquet, express yourself well. In a match like that, what kind of things are you saying to yourself?
ALISON RISKE: You don't want to know. I'm not sure I can repeat it all here (laughter).

I think ultimately there's just, like, a lot of encouragement to myself going on, what I really need to do to impose myself. Keep going after shots, keeping aggressive, taking the ball early.

I think just everything that I know that needs to be done is what I'm repeating to myself in those times, probably with a few vulgarities involved. That is what is being said.

Q. Serena's aura, do you feel that across the net, the competitive desire and her hunger?
ALISON RISKE: Definitely. I think no matter any time Serena walks on the court, you're going to feel something special. She's something our sport has never seen before.

I definitely feel it, but at the same time I was not overwhelmed today. I felt very in the moment. I think she was very respectful, as was I. It was an honor to play against her.

Q. The good news is you've had a great grass court season. The bad news is you have another 47 weeks to wait for it to come around again. Are you going to set yourself different goals to make sure you're top 32 for next year so you get seeded here, to make sure you can take advantage of what has been a short but very productive season for you?
ALISON RISKE: Right. Ultimately I'm not too concerned with rankings and seedings and things like that. I think if I can keep doing what I feel like I'm doing well right now, I think most of it is mental, to be honest, that only good things can happen. I've been on tour for 10 years. This is my first quarterfinal. I like to think that it's only the beginning of something special.

You know, I can only pray that I have at least a few more years left. No matter how short the grass court season is, maybe if I stick around tennis long enough, they'll add a week or two.

Q. You once told us you carry a piece of blanket around from when you were a kid. Do you still have that? Who did your dad cover when he was on the secret service detail? There has to be one fun story from your dad's days as an agent that you can share with us.
ALISON RISKE: Starting with the blanket, it actually disintegrated. I had it for that long. I had nothing left. It was a little nodule that I would carry. Yeah, it's gone. It's been gone for about six years now, five or six years.

My dad was with -- on president detail with Clinton, he was with Bush Sr. He did that for quite a while. He was also with actually Reagan for a very short period of time.

Honestly, my dad didn't share too many stories when he was actually still -- he wasn't allowed to. I don't think I would share of them now either, to be honest. His humor is a little off color. I would probably feel better keeping them to myself.

Q. Did it ever occur to you before the match, first time you are closer to the end than the beginning of the tournament? If you win three more, you're there. Did you ever think about it?
ALISON RISKE: To be honest, I didn't because I knew that today was going to be a battle, as was every one of my matches previously. I was really just trying to take today for what it was. One of the best players that the sport has ever seen. I knew it was going to be a tall order.

I really did believe I could win today. I thought I was very close. But, yeah, in the end it just wasn't meant to be.

Q. If Serena wins the title, you advocate for this, would you think, I was a break up in the third, so I'm there?
ALISON RISKE: I think even whether Serena wins or doesn't win, which I did tell her at the net to take the title, so...

Q. What did she say?
ALISON RISKE: She smiled and laughed a little bit.

I do believe she will win here, especially if she plays the level that she played today. I definitely believe that.

Whether she does or not, however, I take a lot of confidence and a lot of pride from what I did do out there. Because I do think I played against the best Serena today. I was right with her. Unfortunately it just didn't go my way.

Q. You spoke about having a few more years left. At the other end of the spectrum, this week has been Coco Gauff. What are your impressions of her? What do you think she might mean to the sport?
ALISON RISKE: I absolutely love Coco. I also really love her family. I think she's surrounded by some really cool people. I feel like ultimately she has an amazing head on her shoulders. She seems mature way past her years. I think that's an incredible sign of what's to come for her.

Like I said, her parents seem awesome. They seem to really keep her grounded, which I think is really special. I think we're just seeing the beginning of Coco Gauff.

Q. Could you talk more about Serena in the sense of her fight, being a warrior.
ALISON RISKE: Obviously Serena has so many amazing qualities, but I think that's her number one. That's what sets her apart from everyone else in the world. That's what has set her apart for many years since she began.

I think at 1-0, when I broke her at the beginning of the third, I immediately knew in that next game, I could sense she started grunting louder, she started having a lot more punch behind her ball.

I thought that was really interesting because, you know, that's something not a lot of people would be able to get out of themselves. Serena really made it happen. I think that just shows you she's always out there to take it to her opponent and have no mercy. She's willing to do whatever it takes to win.

I thought it was really interesting. I definitely noticed it. I was aware of that. Credit to her for being able to dig that deep to make it happen.

Q. She said that experience was the ultimate difference, having been out there so many times. Did you feel inside of you that you were at any disadvantage not having had that quarterfinal experience?
ALISON RISKE: I think always experience plays a part in anything that we do. I think the more you're in a certain situation obviously the more comfortable you're going to be there.

With that being said, I didn't for once today feel uncomfortable. I thought it was great that I was able to play Donna Vekic on Court 1 in the first day to get that under my belt. Even there I felt very content and comfortable.

Today it was an amazing atmosphere. Honestly it was just a great experience. I loved every part of it, even though I lost.

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