SONY OPEN TENNIS

March 28, 2013

Serena Williams

MIAMI, FLORIDA

S. WILLIAMS/A. Radwanska
6-0, 6-3

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Is that as good as you've played in quite a while?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I have played, yeah, in my last few matches, most
definitely.  So it definitely felt really good today.  I kept my unforced
errors rather low, so yeah.

Q.  You like to build momentum in a tournament?  Just improve as it goes,
generally?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, for sure.  Like I definitely didn't start out the
best, and, you know, I let -- a lot of things in my head were going crazy,
but, you know, just steady.  Slow and steady hopefully wins the race.

Q.  What was going crazy?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No, I just was like, I want to do good, I want to do this.
 When you work so hard and you expect to get results, and so that's how it
always is for me.

Q.  You mentioned to the crowd here how important it is to play well in front
of your home fans.  Does that motivate you a little more, under the lights,
Stadium Court?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah.  It's awesome, you know, being so close to being from
here, spending most of my life here.  It's always good to play at home and it
feels really good.

Q.  What accounts for the change in your serve?  Did you work on it a little
extra or find a little change in your rhythm?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  It just started feeling better.  You know, just trying to
do some things different with it technically.
I have been practicing on it so much, so way before this week.  I'm glad I
was finally able to do a little better.

Q.  Do you feel like the big three, like you, Maria, Vika are becoming the
dominant like the four on the men's side, you could get to where they are,
top four?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I definitely hope so.  I think it's awesome how we are
trying to be consistent.  I think Maria is doing a stellar job with being
consistent, and so is Victoria.  Hopefully I can do like them and definitely
keep up being consistent like that.
You know, it's good for men's tennis to have some good players that play
really solid all the time.  We're just --we're not copying anyone.  We're
just doing the best I think that we can.

Q.  What's been the difference in your matches with Maria?  It's been a long
time since she's beaten you.  What's been the difference for you, you think?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I don't know.  Every match for sure is a new match.  I
don't know.  I just feel like --I love playing her.  I love seeing her on the
opposite side, because she just brings out a good game.
I just like the challenge of playing someone who has made history and who is
doing so well.
Maybe that's it.  I just want to play well against a great player.  I don't
know.

Q.  What kind of match are you expecting out of her Saturday the way she's
been playing this week?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Well, she's been playing awesome.  I definitely expect a
tough match.  She's a great player.  What else can you expect?  You know, she
hasn't lost in a long time so I have to be ready.
One thing about her, she constantly improves.  I actually learn a lot from
her and from that.   Hopefully I can be able to do the same.

Q.  How much does the fact that she's like right under your tail, No. 1, No.
2, you guys are close in the ranking, how much does that serve as an extra
motivator for you?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Well, it's always motivating.  For me, I just try to focus
on one day at a time and one title at a time and just doing well.

Q.  Do you feel she's kind of like you in a lot of ways, her temperament?
 She seems to hate to lose as much as you do.  Do you feel that when you're
playing her?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I don't know anyone in life that hates losing more than I
do.  (Smiling.)
Yeah, so I'm not quite sure about that one.  I feel like whether she wins or
loses, she always has a great attitude about it.  Another thing I can really
learn from her.
Yeah, other than that I definitely think we're a little bit alike in a lot of
different things.

Q.  Today must have been really extra fun for you because it seemed like you
could do no wrong.  Did you feel that?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  On a couple shots out there, they were pretty lucky.  I hit
the line, and I definitely thought it was out.
But I have been practicing really hard.  Hopefully it's just all paying off.
 So I don't know if it's luck.  I don't believe in luck.  I believe in hard
work.

Q.  I have a question related to the Miami Dolphins.  Have the Dolphins
approached you at all --I know you're a little bit of a partner --to help
with the campaign to get public financing for the stadium renovation, trying
to get Super Bowl L in Miami?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  We definitely want the Super Bowl in Miami.  We know we
have to make some changes in the stadium in order to have it back.  No, they
haven't approached me.

Q.  If they asked, would you be willing to help their campaign?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Their campaign?  I think --well, being from South Florida
and being a fan of the Dolphins and being a minority owner in the Dolphins, I
definitely am for having the great stadium, a better stadium, having awesome
fans that we have and building a great franchise here in Miami and having a
fabulous football team.

Q.  What do you think it does for the city to have a Super Bowl?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Any football team does so much for the city and so much for
fans.  I think we do have a chance of having a chance to win the Super Bowl.
 We're getting a better roster of players and we're always so consistent.
 We're always doing pretty well.  We just have to get over that mark and just
to get to the playoffs and go one game at a time.

Q.  The Dolphins quarterback was out here for a little celebrity doubles.
 Did you happen to see him?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No, I wasn't around.

Q.  He needs some coaching.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  He does?  (Laughter.)
I would, too, if I played football.

Q.  The new stadium renovations, how much do you think the $50 million worth
of renovations, not specific to the courts, does it matter to players?  It's
not court-related in terms of the venue in general.  Do you guys think about
that?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, absolutely.  There are so many things that matter to
players like the locker rooms, the facilities, the player lounge, all that
stuff.
It ends up being really important, because ultimately we spend most of our
time here and just a little bit of our time on the court.  So I think if you
make a place that's comfortable for all the players, then it's a lot better.

Q.  What do you think the atmosphere is like here for the fans?  You're from
South Florida.  Is it still as good as it used to be?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I came here as a fan years ago, and it was a great
atmosphere.  And every time I walk out to practice, I have a little nostalgia
every time I pass the lemonade stand because I remember I had lemonade.
I just remember the experience.  For me, it was a great experience.  So I
think it's still a great experience for the fans.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports