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WIMBLEDONJune 28, 2002Serena WilliamsWimbledon, England THE MODERATOR: Serena Williams. Q. Bit close for comfort out there for you this afternoon? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it was definitely a little close. I think Els Callens played pretty much out of her mind today, and I don't know, it was weird. Q. You may or may not know this, but the majority of questions directed toward the other players, other female players, are regarding the Williams sisters. A lot of the talk around every Grand Slam is the Williams sisters. What are your feelings on being the focal point of every Grand Slam, and probably will be that way for the foreseeable future? SERENA WILLIAMS: Right now, I'm just -- I don't know. I just don't really think about it. You have to win matches in order to get there. Like today, if I could have been a little less serious, I mean, things could have went, you know, the opposite, so... I don't know. I'm just, you know, hopefully four more matches. Q. Are you pretty comfortable in that spotlight, you and your sister? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, sure. I'm comfortable in any circumstance. Q. Were you surprised about the hard time she gave you? SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I mean, every time I play her in doubles, you know, she always gives us a pretty hard time. She has a good return, she has a very good serve. So, you know, I wasn't surprised at all. Q. How diminished is your dad's role in kind of the day-to-day tournament life that you and Venus have? Venus addressed this yesterday. Is it something where you guys are kind of setting some different parameters? SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't understand your question. Q. How involved is your dad right now? Are you guys kind of setting a different balance with his role in your game on a day-to-day level? SERENA WILLIAMS: No, my dad has always been, in my game at least, has always been very much involved in it. Actually, I plan on calling him because I know he probably will have seen the match. And I would like to talk about -- to him about the match and what I can do to improve because I don't feel that I'm playing well in this tournament all. Q. How about his presence? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, he wasn't at the French. He has things to do so he's a bit busy right now, so... But with or without my dad or my mom, it all boils down to being able to play. Now I've been playing for 16 years and I figure I should be able to do it on my own by now. Q. What exactly is the point that you are unsatisfied about it? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, my serves, I'm missing too many first serves. I'm not converting my break points. Actually feel like going back out to practice today. But, you know, maybe -- I have a doubles match tomorrow so maybe I can practice some things out there. Q. You seem to have a problem with your footing. Did that affect your movement and the way you played? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, definitely because I was a bit nervous to move, because every time I seemed to want to move, I would slip or fall or something - especially in the first set. It was like everything I did, I just kept falling. But, hey... Q. Are there particular soles that could.... SERENA WILLIAMS: No, it's a good sole. I think the court's just a bit slippery. I was wearing some new shoes, so they were really -- it was fresh. Q. In the second set it seemed like you really started talking to yourself and showing a lot more emotion. Is that a case of you just trying to will yourself to get through? SERENA WILLIAMS: I haven't played a match -- up against Jennifer I always play tough matches. But normally, when -- I'm really emotional when I play. I always, you know, am -- it was totally different between me and Venus. I'm more emotional on the court than she is. I really get into it, I scream to myself, am fighting. Q. Regarding you and Venus' status as favorites, whatever, obviously you want to win every match you play. With all the attention that an all-Williams final would command, would you almost you win it rather than someone else? SERENA WILLIAMS: Obviously, I'm in a tournament, I would like to see Venus do the best she could do. I would never root against her. Q. Is it a situation you just have to deal with when it comes along? SERENA WILLIAMS: Like I said before, I have no problem with it. You guys definitely have a bigger problem with it. Q. I'm not saying it's a problem. There is a lot of talk that comes with an all-Williams final about the way you play each other. Would you almost rather not deal with that at all and have Venus take the entire thing or you take the entire thing, just to avoid all the talk? SERENA WILLIAMS: Not at all. If anything, I'd rather play her in the finals over anyone else for sure. Q. How do you evaluate your opponent of today? She made it difficult for you. SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think she played pretty much immaculate tennis, she played very good grass court tennis. She served very well, she returned well. It's difficult to beat someone who serves well and returns well. Q. Did you think you could lose it today? SERENA WILLIAMS: I never believe I can lose - never. Q. You hit that lob-volley at 4-2 to win that, kind of just got over her racquet there, to win the point, or else it would have gone 5-2 in her favor. Do you feel that was a big point for you, big point, turning point there? SERENA WILLIAMS: You know what, I don't think of one point. Every point was very important. Because no matter what I did, she kind of was able to counterattack it very well. She moved well. The ball stayed really low. It was just -- it was like it was really difficult to play her on this. I think on any other surface, it would be a totally different surface. Q. What goes through your mind when you hear some people having the perception that you and Venus and perhaps your dad discuss before you play each other what the result might be or how you should play? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, obviously that's never happened in the past, you know. We never discussed who's gonna win. If so, I think that, you know, I should have at least won a few more Grand Slams than Venus, I mean really. It took me forever to win another one. For a while, just up until a couple weeks ago, or months ago, she had just this command on me. Every time we played, she would beat me. I think for me it was more mental to get over that hump. But Venus is playing great here. And she's serving unbelievable. So I'm just really trying, you know -- especially when it comes to a Grand Slam, I realized, you really want to fight - you really want to win a Grand Slam - for me, any tournament. Q. Do you have a policy where you don't talk tennis away from it? SERENA WILLIAMS: It's not a policy. Tennis is not number one in my life. Maybe it should be, maybe I would do better. But I would prefer to talk about silly stuff. I'm not a very serious person at all. Q. First time you faulted, kind of a fluke thing. After the second time you slipped, what was going through your mind? SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm thinking it's all a conspiracy (laughter). Q. Someone sprinkled the court? SERENA WILLIAMS: No, it's so dry out there, this is a conspiracy. After the sixth time, I'm just, "Okay, come on now, give me a break." Q. Takes a physical toll? SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I'm okay. Q. She was slicing at you a lot. You adjusted and came to the net on your second serve. Was the slicing annoying you? SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I actually like it when people slice to me. It's like my favorite thing. End of FastScripts…. |
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