THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 10, 2018

Serena Williams

Wimbledon, London, England

S. WILLIAMS/C. Giorgi

3-6, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Looked like a pretty emotional moment for you. Describe how you felt.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I felt good to get through it because it was a tough match.
That's probably why. But that was pretty much it.

Q. You lost only 14 points in 14 games of serve.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Throughout the three sets?

Q. Yes. You served 14 times, and you lost only 14 points, including the break
you had in the first set. Do you think this was just because you served very
well or also because she was trying to hit every time a winning return? She
was not patient enough in returning?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Honestly, probably both. I knew I had to serve really well
today because she was really aggressive on the returns. But I kind of return
the same way. I'm not really patient. I pretty much go for almost all my
returns, so...

It's not necessarily a bad thing.

Q. You've been known at times throughout your career as the comeback queen.
Today was there a point you thought, I'm in real danger of losing this one?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No. It's weird. Sometimes I feel, Man, I'm in trouble.
Sometimes I feel, I can fight. For whatever reason, today I was so calm. Even
when I was down the first set, I thought, Well, she's playing great. I'm
doing a lot of the right things. It is what it is.

Q. You spoke earlier about some of the surprises in your comeback since you
had a baby. What has surprised you in the way you've played and felt on the
court during this tournament?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I think everything right now is a little bit
of a surprise. To be here, to be in the semifinals. I mean, I always say I
plan on it, I would like to be there, have these goals. But when it actually
happens, it still is, like, Wow, this is really happening.

Q. I'd like to ask you about two German players that have made the
semifinals. Julia, you come up against next. You played her in France. What
did you take from that? And Angie, have you missed that competitiveness you
had with her previously?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, they're both really great players, clearly. Really
professional and nice girls more than anything. So, yeah, I played Julia in
the French. That was four or five weeks ago. That doesn't matter. This is a
whole new match, it's a new surface, it's everything. We're starting from
zero.

I'm going to go out there and just do what I can, do my best, see what
happens.

Q. Angie? Have you missed that rivalry with her?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, we've had a lot of tough matches together. She's
playing really well here. I think she did everything she needed to do today
to win. She's very, very, very good here.

Yeah, I have missed it.

Q. You've worked hard this year to get to this point, played a lot on court
already. How much is fatigue a factor?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I'm not tired at all. In fact, when I was out there
today, I think that was one thing that was surprising, was how well I felt.
Not once was I out of breath. Surely there wasn't a lot of long points, maybe
that's why I wasn't out of breath. Felt good (smiling).

But, hey, got to look at the positives, right?

Q. You've been in this exact position countless times. Obviously your life
has changed. What feels different about each phase of this, if at all?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It's different now obviously because I have the baby. Being
a mom is totally different. Still have to think, Wow, I'm a mom. Every day
it's different for me.

Just having an opportunity to win, win matches, just matches in general, with
a daughter at home.

Q. You've spoken eloquently about the challenges of motherhood. Do you feel
more comfortable as a role model generally as you've gone on in your career,
the responsibilities that go with it? Has being a mother helped that?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I've always embraced being a role model. I think for
me I just fell into that perfectly. Now that I'm a mom, I just want to even
be more of that role model for my daughter, for lots of kids out there that
want -- people out there that just want to be inspired.

Here is some good news. Right now there's so much bad news in the world. We
just need a good story.

Q. Who are the role models you followed growing up on and off the court?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, on the court I think everyone in my generation loved
Monica Seles. I was definitely a Monica Seles fan. I also liked Zina because
she looked like me. We didn't see a lot of black players out there. I really
liked her.

Off the court, like my sister, even though she was on the court. My mom,
because she was always so amazing.

Q. It's the 20-year anniversary of Jana Novotna winning. She won the first
year you played here. She passed away last year from cancer. Do you have
memories of her?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it's incredibly sad and heartbreaking for not just the
tennis world, but for just the world. She was so sweet. Every year in the
locker room she was always there every single match just talking to me,
telling me, Congratulations. We just would chat.

I was devastated to hear about that. I actually never knew she was battling
with cancer. But, yeah, she's definitely missed for me because usually after
the matches, I see her there. But I know that her legacy and legend will live
on. She did a lot for tennis. I feel honored that I had a chance to get to
know her.

Q. You spoke about feeling more calm, more at ease when you were struggling
in the first set. Do you feel like since you've come back you're able to look
at things more objectively, be kinder to yourself, see where an opponent is
playing well?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, just to be clear, that was just today. I mean, I'm
hoping this is like a new thing. Honestly, I highly doubt it. It was just the
way I felt today. I never felt it was out of my hands. It's weird. I can't
describe it. I just felt calm. Hoping I can channel that all the time, but
one day at a time.

Q. Billie Jean King was watching you today. Talk about her as a role model.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, she's someone that I really look up to, especially
starting out in my career. I had the honor and pleasure of playing with her
on Fed Cup, which was super cool. I'll never forget that. I learned so much
from her in that little time. I just learned so much.

I really think it helped my career. Again, she's someone else that I always
talked to on the court, off the court, text message, call. She just is an
incredible individual.

Q. It's too early to teach to your girl. Which is the biggest lesson you will
tell her on sports and tennis which you can say to your girl, the first
lesson?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I learned the lesson of never giving in, always
fighting. I feel like it's really important in life, no matter what you're
going through, to never quit. It sounds totally touche [sic], but it's the
truth. For me it's really a true saying.

Q. You were talking yesterday about the role you played in equal prize money
and equality in tennis. Do you think after you're finished playing, whenever
that is, do you think there's somebody in tennis at the moment on the women's
side who will take that fight up? Who is leading that behind the scenes?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It's hard to say because I never assumed or knew I would be
in this position. It's, like, when I first started out, I was playing tennis.
It just became greater than me. Sometimes it takes a while to realize that.

I think Vika does a tremendous amount of speaking out, a tremendous amount.
So I think she is poised to continue to do that. Pretty much a lot of people
that sit on our council. Just sitting on it in itself means that you really
care.

Q. You mentioned Fed Cup. It's quite a while away, but do you have any
thoughts yet? Might you be interested in playing the final? You need to play
a certain number of times to go to the Olympics.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I actually would love to play because I would love to
see the USA keep it. It's in Czech, I don't think I've ever been there.

Yeah, we'll see. Hopefully I'll qualify because there's a lot of Americans
right now that are doing really well, so... Yeah, I would love to see it stay
in the United States.

Q. Have you had preliminary conversations with Kathy about it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Not yet. That's, like, in November or October. So we have
time. I have time to get my ranking up there.

Q. You said at the start of the tournament that you weren't sure if you were
going to serve 120. At the beginning of the second set you did.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Was that the first time I did 120?

Q. Yes.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I went for it. I'm like, I'm going as hard as I can on this
one. I saw it was 122.

It felt good. My arm is, like, amazing. That feels good, too.

Q. Have you been conservative in general just to make sure that it stays?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I've been totally conservative, believe it or not. Yeah, I
don't know, been really conservative.

Q. On the ranking, you're up to No. 51 with the win today. How does that
number sound to you?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, it's better than 183, so... Whatever I am. Got to keep
trekking on, though. Serena Williams, 51, eh. It doesn't have that same ring
to it. The '1' part does, but not the '5'. Keep going.

Q. We talked a lot about you being an inspiration for women's tennis, but
also you've inspired a lot of other worlds. Drake was here today. Mike Tyson
at the French Open. What does that mean to you to inspire other artists?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It's so cool, especially artists like that, like Mike and
Drake who are so successful, to come out. It feels like tennis is becoming
part of pop culture. That's what I love about it. Just helping create that
popularity, getting more young girls to play and be a part of such an
exciting game.

Q. What role do the memories of your previous championships play in your
motivation to get more?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm really good with letting go with wins. So for me, you're
only as good as your last win. It's been a while since I've won a
championship.

Q. Is it the losses that are more motivation? What is it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I hate losing. I mean, that's no secret. But you got to
lose. I feel like every time I lose, I get better. I think it's important for
me to have the losses. Just the fewer the better for me.

Q. Are we any closer to seeing your friend, the Duchess of Sussex, making an
appearance in the Royal Box?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Is that the last question (smiling)?

I don't know. Just stay tuned, right?

Q. Any conversations?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Stay tuned for the next episode, Serena Williams Centre
Court.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports