AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 15, 2014

Serena Williams

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

S. WILLIAMS/V. Dolonc
6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  I supposed today was all about keeping the match as short as possible.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I think it was tough conditions out there.  I think
it keeps getting hotter.  Every day is really hot.
So it wasn't the plan, but it just so happened like that.

Q.  Were you happy with the hit out you got, considering there's tougher
opponent looming in the further rounds?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, for sure.  I actually think I was happy just to get
that win under my belt and have a chance to go to the next round.

Q.  Is it something you look at, the draw?  I mean, do you sit down...
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I never look at the draw ever, ever, ever.  I think that
kind of helps me to relax and, you know, just to take it one match at a time.

Q.  You're an overwhelming hot favorite to win this tournament.  Is there a
bit of pressure that comes along, considering you've played so well in the
last year?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Well, to me there is always pressure.  It always seems like
I'm one of the favorites to win.  But for me, I look at it as kind of
exciting that I have an opportunity to go all the way.
But with that being said, I have so many matches I have to win in order to do
well and in order to lift the trophy.  It's such a long way.
I'll just have to play one match at a time.

Q.  Can you remember playing any competitive matches in temperatures or in
conditions like this that you faced here?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, for sure.  I remember playing a couple for sure
against Svetlana once, and then I played --I remember one time playing
against Mauresmo.  I don't know what year it was.  It was super hot.
So there has been a few.  I played Victoria once in really hot weather.

Q.  You mentioned that one against Svetlana earlier.  Is that something that
gets burned into your memory?  Is it a negative thing in any way that you
have to endure that sort of heat?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No.  Nothing is negative about it at all.  For me it was
just so hot, and I was almost --it was just really hot.  I just remember
barely being able to get through that match.

Q.  So this is nothing compared...
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No, it was definitely really hot today.  It was definitely
something.  I just tried to take it in stride and do the best that I could.

Q.  Are you doing anything different to recover in time for your next match
in terms of hydration or...
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Just drinking a lot, making sure I stay hydrated.  I kept
waking up in the middle of the night last night just paranoid.  I just wanted
to stay hydrated.
The last thing I want to do is to cramp in this weather.  It can happen so
easy.  Just drinking a tremendous amount of water.

Q.  Does it make you want to end the points faster knowing you want to be off
the courts as quickly as possible?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I thought about it, but it definitely was not in my game
plan.  So it wasn't really something that I was trying to do, is to go for
winners.

Q.  How does this kind of heat affect you when you're playing?  Do you feel
it in your chest a little more?  Do you get dizzy at times?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I think I probably feel it more in my head, not necessarily
in my chest.  But so far I have been okay.  I have been training for a long,
long time in the heat in Florida as well as playing --I have been coming to
Melbourne for years and years.
So you just have to be ready for those hot conditions and just try to get
through it.

Q.  We have seen all these coaches come back on the men's side.  Could you
ever imagine when you're done being a coach of a player?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I never really thought about it.  I never would say no to
anything because I actually never thought I would play this long.  So who
knows?  There's always apparently opportunities.

Q.  Do you think you'd like that kind of a role full-time?  Part-time?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I don't know.  You know, obviously it's not something I
would want to do, but I don't even know if I would be a good coach.  We'd
have to see.

Q.  A lot has been made out of the weather.  Would you say the conditions are
okay to play in?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I think the conditions today in my match was okay.  I
wasn't here yesterday.  I heard they were a little bit extreme, so I'm not
sure.  I didn't really even go outside yesterday.
But for my match today, it was okay to play.

Q.  You seemed a little bit frustrated by your ball toss today.  How are you
feeling about your game?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  It was okay.  I feel like I did the best I could today.  I
was, at one point, directly in the sun, so it was a little difficult to see
the ball.  The ball would kind of disappear in my eyesight.
But like I said, I did the best I could today.

Q.  This is the first time that you have played Vesna Dolonc.  What do you
think about her game?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I think she plays very solid.  I don't think I have ever
played her before.  It's tough to go in front of an opponent you don't really
know what to expect, you don't know what to do.  My coach kind of knew her
game a little bit.
She was actually a really good player.  She hit a lot of deep shots and she
was extremely fast.  So I definitely saw why she was in the-- proceeded to
the second round.

Q.  Do you think that it can be so hot that no matter how much you train it's
really not about fitness, it's just about sort of how your body reacts to the
temperature?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  That could be true.  You know, that definitely can be true.
 I'm not sure.  Sometimes my body just says no to hot weather.  Sometimes I
have no reaction.
Again, I'm just happy that I was able to play today before it gets super hot,
and it felt really good.

Q.  How are your ankles feeling?  You had quite a bit of trouble with them in
Melbourne last year.  Are they feeling okay?  Have you done any more
conditioning work than you would normally?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I have been working on them, working on my stability.
 I always get extra tape here in Melbourne now, so I'm extra precautious.

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