SONY OPEN TENNIS

March 23, 2013

Serena Williams

MIAMI, FLORIDA

S. WILLIAMS/A. Morita
6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Even though the scoreline looks kind of easy match for you, you scream
quite often like a, Come on during the match.  So does it mean this match was
tougher than the scoreline looks like?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  For me every match is, you know, tough.  I play the best I
can on that given day.
So, yeah, I think I have said it before:  I think she's a pretty good player.

Q.  What impression did you have of her?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I get a good impression from her.  I played her before.
 She's tough.  She plays well.  She stays really focused and she stays really
pumped up, which I think is a really good feature.

Q.  What was the story about you riding a bike?  Did you come here by bicycle?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, the traffic was crazy and everyone was like, I have
been here for an hour and I'm staying like eight minutes away.  They were in
the traffic for an hour.  I'm like, Okay, I'm not going to make my match if I
don't get there.
So I asked for a golf cart, and the hotel didn't have a golf cart.  Then they
were like, we have a motor bike.  I'm like, I don't do motor bikes.  They
said, We have a bicycle.  I said, I really don't do bicycles, but I will
today.  It was fun.

Q.  So you left the Rolls behind?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I left it behind.  I was like from Rolls to the bike.  It
was probably one of my best memories I think ever, riding a bike to a match.
 That's pretty cool.

Q.  Martina used to do that at Wimbledon.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah?  Honestly, I hear a lot of players do that, but I
never did that.  So check.

Q.  Tough to watch Venus have to pull out?  She was in here earlier today and
looked pretty bummed out about it.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, no, I made a joke about it to her, as always, and I
can always get her to laugh.
We laughed about it.  I think it was the right decision for her.  I haven't
seen her really on the practice court as much because she wasn't feeling
great, so I think she's taking everything a day at a time.

Q.  I want to ask you about Sloane.  She's been compared to you a lot in the
last couple of weeks.  Why do you think those comparisons keep coming up, and
what advice do you have to her, if any, if she wants to someday be on top of
the heap?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  That's a big question.  There's obvious reasons why, you
know, she's compared to me.  You know, I see it as a good thing for anyone to
compare a rising star.  You know, she's 19 or 20 now.  I don't know.  20?
Oh, so, you know, she's getting up there and she will definitely be able to
mature her game.  Now that she's a little more mature with her age, it all
comes along.  She's been playing so well.
Yeah, she'll be fine.

Q.  Do you have any contact or any relationship with Jennifer Capriatti?
 Because she's having legal problems right now.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No.  Last I heard she was happy I lost in Australia.  So,
yeah, I don't really know.  Shocking, but yeah.  I have always been really
nice to her, though, and I see her around in Palm Beach, and her mom.
I always tell her mom to tell her I say hi.  I honestly hope the best for
her.  I hope she's okay.  She has a good heart.

Q.  Can you talk a little bit about your fitness regimen?  My mom saw you
play for the first time live today, and she said how skinny you looked.  You
do look like this is the fittest you have been in your career.  Then Lindsay
mentioned like in Australia that the Nike rep had to take your dress size in
a few sizes down.  Do you feel you're in your best shape?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I definitely feel like now, the past year, I have
definitely been in my more fit shape and I have definitely been more fit,
give or take a few weeks.
But it's tough, you know.  You just have to continue the work.  I can't say
that I'm, like, on the treadmill for hours.  Honestly, it's hereditary.  I
work out for an hour a day without training, and I get really thin.
For me, it's a lot of hereditary stuff.  I do work hard, but when I do play
more, like when I train four like hours a day, like now, I really, really,
really get fit.
So I have some secrets.  (Smiling.)

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports