Q. If you look back at last year the way you left the tournament then, what
is the biggest change you made to be the champion sitting here today?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, wow. Honestly just was more relaxed this time going in.
I played so well leading up to the French Open last year - and same thing
happened again this year - but I didn't put any pressure on myself. I think
losing in the first round definitely helped me realise I have no points to
defend. I have nothing to lose. I can just kind of relax and just do what I
want to do here.

Q. Serena, boom, 190; boom, 195; boom, 198. It is more a matter of technique?
Mental toughness? Precision? Since you are 30 centimeters shorter then Maria
Sharapova, how do you explain it?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I'm a lot smaller then Maria, so I don't know
how I'm able to serve so big. I think growing up with Venus, you know, she's
serving so big, I was like, I want to serve big, too. So I think this
definitely really helped me a lot. Again, I am not the tallest girl on tour,
but I definitely think I use my height in a very effective way, and I use it
to the fullest of my ability.

Q. Sports is all about winning and losing. Can you take a moment and just
talk about the difference in your feeling, the emotions of that tough, tough
loss last year, kind of devastating and just a joy that you're feeling now?

SERENA WILLIAMS: It's definitely, you know, about winning and losing. You
know, I'm still a little bit upset about that loss last year, but it's all
about, for me, how you recover. I think I've always said a champion isn't
about how much they win but it's about how they recover from their downs,
whether it's an injury or whether it's a loss. And I think that really
creates a real champion, is how they can recover from those moments.

Q. You won that match and you have so many interests outside of tennis. Have
you ever thought of retiring at your peak like Greta Garbo?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Wow, what an analogy, me and Greta Garbo. Wow, thank you.
(Laughter.) I definitely - I want to go out in my peak. That's my goal. But
have I peaked yet? (Laughter.)

Q. You won here 11 years ago. Back then, did you think it would take 11 years
to win again?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Definitely not. I thought I would win again, I guess. I
don't know if I really even thought about it, but there were definitely a few
years I felt like I could have won and I didn't. And I think it was mostly on
my racquet and my fault that I didn't win. But I think for the most part I'm
still here and just still fighting and doing the best that I can for each of
my matches.

Q. A very small question about your orange bauble on your socks. What they
mean?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, it doesn't mean anything. Nike makes a special sock for
me with a little - it's kind of retro. I think it's like '70s, I want to say.
I think it's really cute.

Q. At Love-2, 40-15 for Maria, you came back there. It was probably one of
the crucial moments in this match, and then the rest of the match we saw you
with a huge winner spirit at critical points, ad outs, ad ins. Did you really
like put really the best of you for a tournament you didn't win since 2002?
Your winning appetite, was it quite high, even higher than usual?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think my winning appetite was really high. I think due to
that, I may have not played as well as I played in other matches in this
final as I did before. So I think I put maybe a little pressure on myself;
because of that, I maybe made a lot of mistakes that I didn't make in other
rounds. But also, with that being said, it really got me through a lot of
tough points that I knew I needed to win.

Q. Why do you think that you are playing so well at this age?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm really relaxed. I really enjoy every moment that I'm out
there. I always said that I felt like I have never played my best tennis. I
have said that for years, that I feel like I can always do better and play
better and I have always wanted to reach that level. I don't know. Maybe I'm
just trying to get there.

Q. What does it say about the game that you're winning at age 31 and the ages
seem to be going up?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think, you know, I really believe age is a number at this
point, because I have never felt so fit. I feel great. I look great.
(Laughter.) If I see someone that's 31, I'm like, You're old. Then I'm like,
I'm 31. But I don't feel it at all. I don't know. Maybe it's something in the
water in America. I don't know.

Q. How do you rate Maria's performance today in comparison to some of the
other players you have played recently and beat up on?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think Maria played - again, you know, I think she played
probably the best she's played me. I think she really wanted it. I think she
came out with a real plan and she was really determined to do really well.I
think that was a key for her in the match, just to play well. I think she
did. I think she played excellent.

Q. Can you talk about the French fans and being in Paris and having a French
coach and the Frenchness of your life in the last year or so...

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it's been great. I'm here a lot. Not too much because
I travel so much on the tour, so I don't really - there's not one place that
me or any other real tennis player can be. But it's different. When I come
here and I stay at my place and I'm just living a normal life, I'm training
and then I go to sleep, so I feel like I have a lot more ties to this city
and to this country because of it, because I'm a lot more familiar with the
area and with things like that. So it's been a great relationship I have had
in the past, too. I have always had a wonderful relationship here in Paris;
incidentally, the first tournament I ever won was here. I have always just
loved this city. I think it's just natural that I feel so good here.

Q. Do you feel like yourself? You feel good how? Do you feel more like
yourself here than other cities maybe?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I feel great. I feel - yeah, I guess you can say I really do
feel like myself. I feel really relaxed here. I feel like I can just live a
normal life here.

Q. You're world No. 1; you have 16 Grand Slam Championships, and you're
amazing woman in public eye. But if we go back 11 years ago, in your own
mind, what were you like at that time?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I was just a determined individual. I loved, you know, being
on centre court. I loved playing. I couldn't believe I won the French Open 11
years ago. It was a real shock for me. I just, you know, was young and just
loving every moment and every championship that I got to win.

Q. Ten years ago you lost to Henin and the crowd didn't seem to support you.
You fans weren't that happy with your reception. Is it an extra victory now
that you stole their hearts? You feel kind of Parisian now?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I guess you could say it's an extra victory, but in the end
of the day when I lost my match to Justine, the crowd wasn't out there
playing for me. I think at the end of the day you have to be mentally tough
to get through those moments and to win those matches whether someone is
rooting for you or not.

Q. Helps you working here at the Mouratoglou Academy. Did it change also a
lot if you compare to last year, for example?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I was in great form last year. It just didn't come
together in the first round here. But definitely I think, you know,
everything - I guess it all helps working with Mouratoglou and him being
French and all that other jazz. (Laughter.)

Q. You finished the match with three aces. Is that perfection, or you can
finish it with four? You serve as well as a man? Or what is this? Female
tennis but good tennis?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, honestly, at that point I was just so nervous. I
thought, I'm not going to be able to hit groundstrokes. (Laughter.) No joke.
I really thought - and as you see the one groundstroke I did hit went like
100 feet out. I thought to myself, Look, Serena, you've just got to hit aces.
That's your only choice. I just had to hit aces. That's just what I did. I
wouldn't have been able to hit a forehand or a backhand or any shot, for that
matter.

Q. Tomorrow is men's final. Who would you like to win? Who would you rather
to do protocol with, Rafa or David?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm a really big Rafa Nadal fan. I always have been. You
know, I think he's a legend at such a young, early age. With that being said,
I love David Ferrer's work ethic. I love how I always see him in the gym and
how serious he is. I love that. I love to see two players like that go at it,
and hopefully it will be a really, really good match.

Q. What is your favorite book or movie about Paris?

SERENA WILLIAMS: About Paris?

Q. Yeah, that takes place in Paris.

SERENA WILLIAMS: There is a movie called - you will have to look this one up.
It's called, Mama, There's a Man in Your Bed. (Laughter.) Has anyone seen
that one? Yeah. It's very funny, actually. It's a French movie. Takes place
in Paris.

Q. What does that number, 16 Grand Slam titles, mean to you?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm just trying to go up and up. Today when I won I was
trying to win the French Open; wasn't trying to get to No. 16. I don't know.
I think it was Fabrice Santoro told me that, 16, and I thought, Wow, I forgot
about that. I think it's really special. I feel like I definitely want to
continue my journey. If it means I stop at 16 or if it means I have more, I
definitely want to continue my journey to get a few more.