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U.S. OPENSeptember 3, 2013Serena WilliamsNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK S. WILLIAMS/C. Suarez Navarro THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. When you're in a match that's that one‑sided, can you feel compassion for the person on the other side of the net, or does that not even enter into it? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, you don't really think about it. You just think about winning the points and winning the games. That's all you think about. You don't think about ‑‑at least, I don't think about anything else. Maybe after the match or during, I just try to stay in the moment. Q. How much of the final score was about what you were doing, about the wind, the one‑handers, affecting her timing? SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely think the wind was tough for her, and especially on that court it just gets really windy down there. With a one hand it doesn't help, so it kind of almost worked into my favor. Q. Novak called his play flawless out there. Would you describe yours as close to that? SERENA WILLIAMS: Of course not (smiling). I played good, though. I played really good. I was just more focused than anything. You know, I like to believe there is room for improvement. Q. What flaws did you have? SERENA WILLIAMS: Um, well, I haven't thought about it yet, but off the bat I don't ‑‑I mean, I think it was very difficult to hit a big serve today because of the winds, but I didn't get my serve up as much as I wanted to. But I don't know. I'm not here to say what I did wrong. I think I definitely played well, but, you know, she also gave me some good points. Q. You have had lots of dominant stretches in your career, but losing only 13 games in five matches here on your way to the semifinals, is that about as dominant as you have been at any point in your career? SERENA WILLIAMS: Ah, I guess so. Again, I don't know. I haven't thought about it yet. I'm still in the tournament and I'm not thinking about, like, I'm really dominant now. I'm just thinking, Okay, I just have a really tough match in the next round and I really want to do well. Q. Do you set different little goals throughout the match, like, Okay, this game I don't want to do X or I do want to do Y? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it's so funny. Just this tournament I started setting different goals for myself, and it's been really working for me. So I just started that, and I'm enjoying it. Q. A lot of people dismiss your dad outright or just say, hey, he wasn't a player; doesn't really know the game or know the Xs and Os; he's not much of a coach. In conversation with Patrick a couple days ago, he said Richard, your dad, was the greatest coach of all time; just look at the results. Could you sort of go into the Xs and Os or into the details and talk about why your dad was such a great coach or where you think he lands on the scale? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think that just, I mean, everyone who in the past may have said my dad wasn't a good coach, obviously the results spoke for themselves between myself and Venus. And, you know, multiple Grand Slam titles that we have won is just ‑‑I wouldn't have won a single title without him and without his backing. I think that theory went out the door years and years ago, maybe over a decade ago. But, yeah, he's just great. He's a great coach. Even to this day. He wrote me something just the other day, and I just really meditated on it and I thought about it, and I thought, This is what I need to do, and it really helped me out during the match. Q. His eye for the game? His knowledge of his daughters? Is it his motivation? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, he's just so innovative, and I think one of the reasons I'm still playing some of the best tennis at 30 is because he built my game and my sister's game. He gave us a good foundation. So to say he built our foundation ‑‑it was solid and it wasn't weak, so we were always able to grow our game. So I think that can't really been said about a lot of people in their career. Q. What is your appreciation of the Bryan brothers, what they have meant to the sport, and their pursuit of the Grand Slam this year? SERENA WILLIAMS: It's been amazing. I'm a little jealous because Venus and I haven't quite won a Grand Slam in doubles. Um, but, I'm so excited, and, boy, am I rooting for them to go all the way. I think they're obviously so exciting. I mean, they really bring the crowd here. People come out to the tennis to see, you know, Roger Federer, Nadal, the Bryan brothers, you know. They are just as big a card as anyone else. That's really never been done, and it's really awesome. Q. What makes them special on the court in your estimation? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, their energy is just unbelievable. Their energy is so great. I mean, whether they are up or they're down, you can't tell. It seems like they're just having the time of the their lives on the court. For me personally, I love the dynamic that they're brothers. I can really relate to that because I play doubles with my sister. We don't have that energy, but we definitely have so much fun out there, and I feel just like on that aspect we have so much to relate to. Q. You talked about when you have fun you play better. How much fun are you having this week? SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm having a blast this week. I have just really been enjoying my matches. For me, I have to stay in that moment of fun but intensity but calm. If I can try to do those three things, it works out. Q. Li Na, she beat you a few years ago. Can you just talk about the challenge she presents in the matchup coming up? SERENA WILLIAMS: She's a great challenge. She moves really well. She does everything well. I think the challenge of playing someone like her is how do you beat a player that does everything so well? I'm going to have to, in the next couple days, think about that and come up with an answer to that. Q. They've been close sets; she hasn't beaten you. SERENA WILLIAMS: So, yeah, she's been playing really close. Who knows? Maybe the next time we play she might want to go from close to a win, so I have to be ready for that. Q. Tonight on the telecast, Chris Evert called you the best player ever. She said the numbers aren't there yet because of injuries and time off, but she speculated that you have started to kind of focus on your place in the game and the numbers, and she said in the next three years you have time to pass everybody. Has that entered your thinking at this stage? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. I mean, for me, I never really want to focus on the numbers. I started playing tennis not to be the greatest but just because I had a racquet and a dream. Now people are saying that I could be, but for me, I'm just not there yet. I feel like people like Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, they just, right now, are just, to me, the ultimate icons in history and the historics of women's tennis. I just am still that girl with the racquet and a ream, and I'm just playing for that. Q. You mentioned that this was a tournament you came in with specific goals that you set, and I don't know if it was something new for you, but can you elaborate what those goals were a little bit? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, no. Sorry (laughter). Good try, though. Q. Rafa is undefeated on hard courts this year and you're undefeated on clay. Patrick said this year balance was really important with your clay game. I wondered about transitioning from clay to hard courts, what the challenges have been? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, actually, it's a lot easier, the transition, because the hard courts have gotten so slow since when I started playing. They were a lot faster. And now it's just so many more balls come back, and it's just almost basically playing on a fast clay court. I think the transition is a lot easier than it used to be. Q. You've achieved most everything in your stellar career. Only two titles is missing in this beautiful collection, the Aussie and the French mixed doubles. Have you considered about the run for this title with the kind of player like Roger or Rafa? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, if they would play with me. I would totally play the mixed doubles in Australia or the French, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen (smiling). I obviously think about it. I still have several years. I just feel so good physically and mentally. I have several years to keep trying. But I keep playing doubles, and I can't play all three events. So it's just like ‑‑I don't want to give up the doubles to play the mixed, so it's tough. Q. Would you liken Patrick to your father, is that in terms of coaching style or persona, the way he deals with... SERENA WILLIAMS: No, definitely coaching style. I think their personalities are completely different. But, yeah, one of the main reasons I was able to work with Patrick is because he was telling me a lot of the same things that my father told me. I think that had he told me something opposite or something different or, you know, he wasn't just doing almost, you know, similar stuff, I would not be able to work with that because I just wouldn't accept it. Q. How do you take care of your body, like the way you eat to be in shape, to feel good? SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, my. Well, gosh, that's a long answer, but basically, you know, you are what you eat, right? (Smiling). FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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