TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN – 24th of January 2015. S.Williams d. E.Svitolina 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. An interview with Serena Williams
Q. Another start slower than you wanted, but great finish. How do you keep turning it around? What do you attribute the slow start to?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I’m not sure. I need to figure that out. Well, my next match I’m just going to have a longer warmup, more intense warmup. But as long as I was able to come through today, I can always have an opportunity for tomorrow.
Q. What does it mean for you to be back in the second week of a major with your sister for the first time together in about four years?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, it feels good. It means a lot. I’m still trying to get past the fourth round, so we’ll see. One match at a time.
Q. Do you think it’s a benchmark at all for Venus? It’s been almost four years since she’s made this point of a major.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, she’s been practicing really well. She’s just been doing everything well. She’s so focused. She has so much motivation. At the same time on all of it she’s super relaxed. It’s really encouraging to see.
Q. Years ago Venus said the two of you are exactly the opposite of anything that’s happened in the game. In other words, you had an incredible impact. Can you reflect on that comment. Do you think it’s truer than ever?
SERENA WILLIAMS: To be honest with you, either I’m slow today, but I’m not catching that. I’m so sorry. I’m just not catching that. Can you elaborate?
Q. She said, Serena and I are exactly the opposite of anything that has ever happened in the game. She was talking about how you came into tennis and changed the game.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Okay. And I’m supposed to be in college, geeze (smiling). Yeah, I think we are a lot different. We didn’t play juniors. Our dad has been our coach for years, years, years. Usually you switch it up a little bit. Yeah, we just kind of came different. We’re black. We just started something new. It was fresh. So, yeah, it is definitely something opposite from what you would expect from an average tennis player.
Q. What do you remember most about the match against Muguruza at the French?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Losing. But it was a good loss. As angry as I was, it was the best loss I had the whole year last year. Had a lot of them. But that one in particular made me realize what I needed to work on. It opened my eyes towards a lot of things. I was like, Oh, my gosh, if I don’t change, then I’m going to be forever in the same position. It actually ended up helping me a lot.
Q. She said today she thinks she played out of her mind that day. Did you sense that that day?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Thought that day she played well. She didn’t miss a shot. She didn’t miss a forehand. She miraculously got every ball back. As a top player you have to be ready for that. You have to be ready for everything and anything. I believe she has the potential to want to do that again against me. So I’m going to be ready for that.
Q. How much do you look forward, when you have a loss to somebody at a major, to the next time you get to play them?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I always look forward to it. I have nothing to lose. Here is my turn to show them I can do it. If not, if they’re the better person on that day, they’re the better person on that day again. It honestly takes a lot of pressure off of me.
Q. What were your thoughts about Roger’s loss?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, you know, I wasn’t very happy, to be honest. I was rooting for Roger. He’s been playing so well, on the other hand Seppi played incredible. He served well, he played well, he moved well. He did everything great. If you want to beat the top players, that’s what you’re going to have to do. I think he proved he could do that consistently for four sets. I don’t think Roger played bad. I think Seppi played really, really well.
Q. Who will you pick up for the men’s title since Roger is out?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I was rooting for Andy the whole time, so we’ll see what happens.
Q. Is the fourth round in your mind as a big hurdle for you at a major?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. Nowadays, if I get past the fourth round, it’s like party time. So we’ll see.
Q. What was the moment that Andy Murray became one of your favorites?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I like all the top guys. To be honest, I think Novak is playing really well. I think Stan is playing well. He’s kind of flying under the radar. He’s playing really well here. I like Andy’s attitude. I always have. I like how he gets every ball back. I like all the top guys, Rafa, Roger, Andy, Novak, Stan. I always root for them, so…
Q. Is it more of a sympathy factor for Andy? He tweeted the other day how he got a bit of a rough go after the US Open compared to Rafael Nadal when he suffered injury problems. Do you feel a bit of sympathy for Andy?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I didn’t see that, so I’m not sure. Andy is a great player. I played him actually once recently in an exhibition. He destroyed me and I felt really bad. It was just in mixed doubles. I thought I really would have a bigger chance. But honestly, he was at the net, so it wasn’t really a fair opportunity. The girl was serving, he was at the net, covering the net. I have a whole new appreciation for his game. He had great hands. I just saw he’s amazing to watch. I really kind of liked that. But I was able to return his serve pretty well.
