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BRISBANE INTERNATIONALJanuary 3, 2013Serena WilliamsBRISBANE, QUEENSLAND S. WILLIAMS/S. Stephens THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. She pushed you a little bit, but you won the important points when you needed to, no? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, she definitely pushed me. I've always said she's a really good player. You have to expect that going up against what I would consider a top player. Q. I guess you guys hadn't played before but had practiced a handful of times. Did she show you something you weren't expecting? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. I think she plays really well. She's really calm, something I never have been in my whole career. But I think it shows a lot of maturity. I think she has really mature game. Yeah, it's great. Q. I think you said on the court that one day she could be the best player in the world. SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. Q. What do you think she needs to do to get to that point, whenever that will be? SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. She's playing great. Just be more consistent, which she's already doing. I think that's it. Yeah, so I don't think it's that much. Q. Was that the kind of hit‑out that you need before tomorrow's match with Victoria? SERENA WILLIAMS: For sure. I definitely want to thank her for giving me such a great match, because I'm going up against another good player, great player tomorrow, so I have to make sure I'm ready. I've had some good matches this tournament, even though the scoreline in the second match seemed easy. It was a really good, intense match. So it's been intense. Q. Looked like at one point you were rubbing your calf. Was it a cramp? Can you tell us about that? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, no, I don't know what it was. To be honest, at my age you never know. Could have been a broken bone. (Smiling.) Just making sure. (Laughter.) Arthritis. (Laughter.) Q. But it feels all right now? The calf is okay? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, feels fine. Yeah. Q. Is it exciting to meet the top players for you? What sort of emotions do you go through when you know you're playing a top player in a big tournament? SERENA WILLIAMS: I always feel like I have nothing to lose, especially going against Victoria, who I think has been the most consistent player the past year, last year. She was most consistent, which is, I think, she's why she's No. 1. So, yeah, feel like I really have nothing to lose, nothing to prove, and I'll just go out there and do the best I can. Q. I know you're being complimentary toward her, but I think you've won 35 of your last 36 matches, which is pretty consistent, too, no? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, but I also lost in the first round of a Grand Slam and she didn't. I think that's what really affected me. Q. You also beat her five times last year. SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah? Five? Q. Yeah. SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, we played a lot last year. I'm glad I was able to come out with the win. Come on, Matt. Q. Talk about the matchup a little bit. She played you very tough at the US Open. SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, she's been playing better and better. I saw her play her match in the first round and I thought she played really well. She's moving really well. I think it'll be a really good matchup. Obviously with Melbourne just a little over a week away it's actually a good match to see, Okay what am I going to do in potentially semifinals or finals of Melbourne ‑ if I make it that far ‑ and what do I need to do to improve and make sure I am at the right level. I think these matches always really help. Q. So how much fun was it to be in Mauritius? First time for you, huh? SERENA WILLIAMS: It was fun. You know, I went with the attitude that I was going to wake up at 6:00 in the morning and practice and then have the rest of the afternoon. Obviously I didn't do that. I woke up around 10:00 and I just had a late practice and then I had the rest of the afternoon. I don't know. I always have these big, grand goals and I never can stick to them. I ended up being really afraid of everything. I was afraid of the ocean. Everyone swam with the dolphins; I thought they would bite me, so I refused. I ended up barely being able to snorkel because I was afraid of the fish that were this big, literally. So, yeah, I don't know if that's for me. I don't know. Q. You were doing karaoke with Pavlyuchenkova she said. SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I love singing with her. It was fun. We had some great songs. I love karaoke so much. Q. She said you guys were doing old songs she didn't know well. SERENA WILLIAMS: No. That girl knew some old songs. She knew Fame word for word. I was like, How in the world do you know Fame? I didn't know Fame. I had to go back and learn it. That was just last year I learned the lyrics. She knew them. It was just really, really hilarious. Q. So Hingis can sing? SERENA WILLIAMS: She's a good singer. She ended up being one of my favorite people to duet with. We're the same age so we wanted to sing all the same songs. I was like, Martina, do you want to sing this song? She was a great plus one. Q. Wow. SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, shocking. Q. Absolutely. SERENA WILLIAMS: Great karaoke buddy. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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