TENNIS US OPEN 2014 – 26th of August 2014. S. Williams d. T. Townsend 6-3, 6-1. An interview with Serena Williams
Q. Was it easier than you thought?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, not at all. I think it was an interesting match. I thought she played really well. She started out super strong. She did a good job.
Q. It was getting tight in the first game. Did it throw you off a little bit?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, it didn’t throw me off. I just was getting, you know, first match, last match of the day, just getting myself in there.
Q. You watched Taylor play before, but playing against her, what are your impressions of her?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think Taylor is a really great player. I believe she does everything well. She’s one of the few players that can come to the net and volley, as well as she has unbelievable hand speed with her racquet. She’s really unbelievable.
Q. She shared you did a little texting with each other last time you were together, you talked about nails and hair.
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, her nails are beautiful today. I loved it. Her hair is always great. Yeah, we’re really close. I mean, like I said on the court, I really love her. She’s such a great girl. It’s good to see her doing so well.
Q. How much harder on your body would it be over time if you had to play five sets?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I have never thought about that. I don’t know. I really don’t know. I can’t answer that fairly I don’t think.
Q. Do you think it’s funny that the guys play five and women play three? Would you want it to be equal?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, it’s definitely not funny. We actually offered to play five sets many times. They don’t want the women to play five sets. They prefer we play three sets. We’ve given that offer many, many, many occasions, but it’s not what the tournaments in general desire.
Q. Do you talk to the WTA or the tournaments themselves?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I’m on the Player Council for a hundred years. We’ve had this discussion. Yeah, we women are strong, ready, willing and able. All the players have agreed to it but it’s not what they want right at this time.
Q. If you were in charge of the whole sport and could change any rule about play, enact a new rule, what one thing would you like to do?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think I love tennis the way it is. I think it’s a great game. As for changing the rules, yeah, I don’t know. It would be something more technical. Nothing that I can think of in terms of tennis play.
Q. Could you expand on how you felt you played tonight.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think my game was good for tonight. There’s always a little nerves going into the first round, especially as a defending champion. So I feel like I served well. I served the way I wanted to serve. Hopefully I can just build from this. I think in the early rounds, if I can get through them this year in this Grand Slam, I just want to continue to build on that.
Q. Given the setbacks in the previous Grand Slams, have you changed your preparation at all?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I’ve decided I’m not going to overthink it. I think I’ve overthought every Grand Slam so far this year. It didn’t really work out great for me. So worst-case scenario, I’m just going to stay positive and do the best I can. That’s all I can do.
