Interview with Serena Williams before her
match with Alexa Glatch at the
2009 US Open
Q. How do you feel about your
first round match against Glatch? You played her in
Miami.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, she's a really good player. She
gave me a tough match in Miami, and she's been playing
really well and really solid tennis. It's definitely not
an easy match, but I look forward to it. It will be good.
Q. After you won Wimbledon you
spoke very entertainingly about the No. 1 ranking and
what your thoughts were about it. After this summer with
Dinara still at No. 1, what are your thoughts about the
No. 1 ranking?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't talk about that anymore. I'm
sorry.
Q. How come?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I've talked about it a lot, and if you
want to read some answers that I said, you know, you can,
but I think we should talk about something else. It's
more exciting, more new.
Q. Do you have regrets about
what you said after the Wimbledon victory?
SERENA WILLIAMS: What? I mean, I'm very excited to
have won Wimbledon, Australia and this tournament last
year, so I have no I don't live with regret. Do you?
(laughter.)
Q. Sometimes.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I try not to. You shouldn't. (laughter.)
Any other questions that's not about No. 1?
Q. How would you describe the
state of your game right now?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It's okay. I'm really a
perfectionist. And I feel like every practice I just work
so hard, and I try so hard, and so I feel like I have
been having my best practices, but I think my dad's like,
you're doing great. My mom's doing like, you're doing
awesome. So it helps me. I just need to make sure I stay
relaxed.
Q. You have a book coming out
Tuesday, right?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah.
Q. That and this at the same
time, where is your focus?
SERENA WILLIAMS: My focus right now is on the ball, and
I'm excited to have a book coming out. I think it's a
great you know, it's almost surreal, like I never thought
that I would get to this point in my life and just have
an opportunity to write. I mean, I love writing, and then
actually to have an opportunity to have a book coming
out, which I think is just beyond cool.
So I think it will motivate me to want to do really well
here.
Q. You write a lot on your blog
and you write a lot with your fans on Twitter. What are
your thoughts about the warnings that they're giving
players about being careful with what they Tweet?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think it's definitely important,
because they're so there's a lot of things that happens
in tennis that shouldn't happen, and, you know, you don't
think about it sometimes when you Tweet certain things.
But I guess you have to kind of think about everything
nowadays.
Q. 2014, US Open will be the
only Slam without a retractable roof. Do you think the US
Open should add a roof here?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it would be kind of hard to add
a roof on this wonderful stadium, so I think we're fine.
You know, historically we've done well, and you know, it
will be just kind of weird to put a roof on Arthur Ashe
Stadium.
Q. How different is your focus
at the beginning of a Slam versus the other tournaments,
like the Open series this summer in between Wimbledon and
here?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, my focus is always different. I
think anyone's focus maybe not anyone. My focus is always
different in Grand Slams. I feel like, you know, this is
it and I really I just get super disappointed when I lose
in a Grand Slam.
At the other tournaments I get desperately disappointed,
but then I feel like there's next week, and I try harder,
and then there's the next week.
So I always try to do the best I mean, whenever I lose,
I'm not happy. I'm not a good person to be around. I just
try to do the best that I can.
Q. Last year you seemed like
really, really excited when you won here and almost
relieved because you had the disappointing Wimbledon
loss. Here you came and you won Wimbledon. Is the emotion
different, like you want this more or less or the same?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely want it more. Wimbledon was
a while ago. Yeah, I won it, but it seems like a lifetime
ago already. It's just been such a whirlwind but I would
love to do well here. I love playing on this court. I
just love playing in the atmosphere, and I just think it
will be I'll just do my best.
Q. How have you been preparing?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Just training a lot. Hitting a lot
of balls over the net. Just everything I've been doing,
just as hard. Nothing really too special. No marathons or
anything.
Q. When you look at your game
right now, what do you think is your strongest point
right now and the weakest point?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I don't know. I think my strongest
point is that I have an all around game. I can serve
well, return well, volley if I ever decide to come to the
net.
I think that's a strength to have when you play against
someone that is pretty good all around.
Q. And your weakness? What would
you say you're working the most on?
SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, I don't talk about my
weakness. That's kryptonite thinking.
Q. How do you feel about Venus'
Green Tee that she designed for the US Open this year? Do
you like it or would you have designed it a little bit
differently or the same?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I love it. I think it's awesome. She's
great. She actually always helps me with my designs, so I
wish she could have helped me with that and make that one
of mine, but maybe something else.
Q. What do you think Kim
Clijsters has shown with coming back so well so soon in
her comeback?
SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, I have to say I was a little
shocked. I didn't expect her to do I expected her to do
well, but it looks like she took a week off. I'm happy,
and it makes me actually want to work harder. Like okay,
this girl is good. She hasn't lost a step. She hasn't
lost anything. And even just to hit next to her sometimes
she just looks so good, and it's cool, and it's actually
I think super good for women's tennis.
Q. In what way? What's the
benefit of her return?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, she's an exciting player to
watch. She's a fun player to watch. She just brings that,
you know, big Belgian crowd to tennis, as well other
areas. It's really cool.
Other Serena News
Interview with Serena Williams
after her win over her match with Alexa Glatch at the 2009 US Open
Interview with Serena Williams
before her match with Alexa Glatch at the 2009 US Open
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