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WIMBLEDON

July 5, 2016

Serena Williams

London, England

S. WILLIAMS/A. Pavlyuchenkova
6‑4, 6‑4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Three wins for the family today. Which one are you the most happy with?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Probably really excited about, you know, Venus' win, the doubles win. All of them. Obviously I'm happy I won, so yeah.

Q. What does it mean to you to see Venus back at this level, back in a Grand Slam semifinal, after what she's been through? It's been about six years since she's done it.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it just means that she has a lot of perseverance. She's a real fighter. Like I said, like I always say, it's super inspiring for me. It's really great.
So, yeah, it means a lot.

Q. It's been a long time since you played Vesnina in a major. You have this opportunity again. What have you seen in her game over the last couple of years and what do you admire most about the way she plays?
SERENA WILLIAMS: She has a really good grass court game, I think. She has a really good serve. I notice that she always works on things and she always improves her game.
She's also very aggressive. She comes to the net. I know her game really, really well. It's good to play someone's game that you know.
I think, yeah, I'll be ready for it.

Q. Most players get angry at some point in a match, smash a racquet. Some players are not very good at managing that. You have always been good at it, making it a positive thing. Is that a learned skill or a natural skill?
SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, I don't know. I think sometimes when I release that energy, I get kind of calm. I just sometimes feel like maybe I need to release.

Q. Since Venus first emerged in Oakland about 19 years ago, your family has had one incredible storyline after another. What does that mean to you? Are you even surprised that this has unfolded the way it has here?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm surprised of the longevity of it. That kind of definitely took me by surprise. But also, you know, when you're younger and you have a dream and you say it and you believe it, that's one thing. But for it to really happen and to come true, it's just a completely different emotion.

Q. The four semifinalists are all quite experienced. Kerber is 28. Vesnina is 29.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Aah.

Q. I stop, I stop. What is the explanation you give to this? Just that experience matters? The young, rising stars, they're not coming out anymore. How do you explain it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it's just different timing. The experienced players are ready to keep winning. They want to keep being great. The younger players, I think they're doing really well, too.
It's just a matter of time.

Q. Not wishing to bring the end of your career or your sister's career, but even joking sometimes, do you and Venus ever talk about retirement?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I think when it happens, I'll know. She'll probably know for herself. But, no, we just are taking it in stride.

Q. When you look at your game and Venus' game, what do you think are her strengths over you and your strengths over her?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I don't really want to analyze her game. I definitely don't want to analyze my game, so...

Q. Four years ago in London, you had a chance to spend some time with the Olympians from the basketball realm, including Kevin Durant. What are your thoughts about him moving to the Golden State Warriors?
SERENA WILLIAMS: That is crazy. They are stacked, yeah.

Q. Your serve is described as the single greatest stroke in the history of women's tennis. We know about your mental toughness. Can you compare those two elements in your game?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, my serve is usually really good. I don't know how it came about, though. Like, I'm not as tall as all the other players. So it's strange that I have such a strong, hard serve.
But I have to say what I think really is my game is my mental toughness because just not only to be able to play, to win, but to be able to come back when I'm down. Both on the court and after tough losses, just to continue to come back and continue to fight, it's something that takes a lot of tenacity.

Q. Anastasia played a great match today, two tough sets. What were you happiest about? How do you feel about your game right now at this point?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think she played a really tough match. So I'm really happy that I was able to get that in straight sets.
I'm really happy with my serve today because I don't think I lost serve. No. That was also really important today because she also served really well.
Yeah, so I think those were some things that really worked out for me.

Q. How do you feel about your game as far as where you are in the Grand Slam? Is it where you want it to be right now?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Uhm, yeah, at this point it's going to have to be. I'm entering the semifinals of Wimbledon. I don't need it to be anything less. So, yeah, I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Q. This is your eighth straight Grand Slam semifinal. How happy are you with the sort of consistency you've had getting through these first five rounds?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think it's great. You know, like I said, it just shows another mental toughness of mine, just being able to come through and consistently get to this stage of the tournament. I think it's something that is really noteworthy.

Q. I don't want to remind you about bad moments, but you lost to Kerber in Australia. Are you going to give some advice to Venus or talk to Venus about how she has to face Kerber? You know her well.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, Kerber's playing really well. I really think she likes this surface, too.
Venus has played her several times. I've played her several times. She knows what to do. She's really good at reading opponents.

Q. A few minutes ago you said you were inspired by Venus. How would you describe her journey to get back to a major semifinal, the obstacles and her perseverance? What has enabled her to overcome everything?
SERENA WILLIAMS: She's just such, you know, a great fighter. With everything she's been through, I think it's built a ton of character in her, and in me just by being around her. So it's been really great.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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