SONY ERICSSON OPEN

March 24, 2012

Serena Williams

MIAMI, FLORIDA

S. WILLIAMS/R. Vinci
6-2, 6-1

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Done before lunch, huh?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yes.

Q.  How did you feel you played?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I played okay.  I definitely can do better, but I haven't
played a lot.  So it was just getting those matches.
I don't see Venus Williams making any excuses about not playing a lot, and
she's doing excellent.

Q.  You were there last night to watch her?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No, I wasn't there.  I played so early I needed to kind of
not be there.

Q.  Do you like playing early, 11:00 a.m.?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I actually hate morning matches, but I always do my best at
11:00 matches or 10:00 matches.
Yeah, I always do excellent, so maybe I should like them.

Q.  Maybe you shouldn't hate them.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah.

Q.  What do you hate about them?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I'm not a morning person, so it's like you have to wake up
early.
But honestly, I play my best tennis on early matches.

Q.  How did you follow Venus' match?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I have this app that's like WTA/ATP live score, and so I
was watches the live scores, so it was really intense.

Q.  When Petra won the second set did you get worried?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Got a little nervous, so I was like, Oh, you know.  Then
she raced through the third, so I was really excited.

Q.  You look like you played into the match, very conservative, steady from
the baseline and just ripping your serve today.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I mean, you can't go too hard, you know, on a ball
that has zero pace and it stays super, super low.
So I have been playing a lot of players like that lately, so, you know, I
actually learned a lot.  So it's pretty good that I play a lot of players
like that.

Q.  Do you feel good about your serve though today?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  My serve is definitely better today.  So, yeah, I felt
pretty good about it.

Q.  You play Sam Stosur in your next match, US Open final rematch.  What are
your thoughts on getting another match with her?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  It will be good.  We have had a lot of good matches.  This
is a good court for it because the ball bounces high.  I look forward to it.
 Like, it will be fun.  I mean, she's been playing well and I'm just doing my
best, so it's just another test for me.
You know, we're both gonna obviously want to win and do what we can.

Q.  Have you thought back on the US Open final at all?  For a while, that was
your last match for a long time.  Do you think back to what you could have
done differently in that match?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No, you know, I thought I did pretty well in general.  I
played a lot.
You know, obviously I could have played a lot better, but under the
circumstances there was nothing to be upset over that match.

Q.  One thing about starting so early is you've got all the rest of the day
now.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I know.  That's what I love.

Q.  You're in Miami.  Do you take advantage?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Well, I can go to the beach, which I love the beach, but
we'll see.

Q.  I heard you had baby-sitting duties last night.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I had Harry with me.  He got in a fight with my dog,
actually.

Q.  Did you break it up and get bit?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah.  I definitely stopped them, but my dog ended up
limping.  But I think she was faking because I offered her a treat and she
wasn't limping anymore.
She just wanted me to feel sorry for her.

Q.  How hungry are you to raise a trophy again?  It's been since Toronto last
August.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, definitely.  I need trophies.  I want to add more and
to do more.  There's records to break.  So I'll do it.  I've just got to
believe it.  I do believe it.  Just go from there.

Q.  Are there any particular records you have your eye on?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  A lot of records.  No.

Q.  Overall titles?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No.  God no.  But nothing I care to mention.

Q.  What is your best memory that you have about Roland Garros?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Um, obviously winning, so I don't even...

Q.  Just pick one of the memories.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Winning in 2000whatever -- centuries ago, whatever.  So,
yeah, that was like a great moment for me.

Q.  When you say winning, you mean the match point or...
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Just holding up that trophy.  I love Paris.  I love Roland
Garros.
I absolutely love that tournament, like I love the city more than I can
explain.  On my Twitter I have, "From Paris."  So I just love it.  I can't
even describe it.

Q.  You still have an apartment in Paris?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah.  I actually went there after the Australian Open.  I
hung out there.
I was gonna go again after Fed Cup just to hang out and train there at Roland
Garros.  I live so close to Roland Garros, so it's perfect.

Q.  You train at the actual Roland Garros site or one of the academies there?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, a little bit of everywhere.  Yeah.

Q.  How do you feel about your game on clay at this point?  Do you feel
you're as tough on that surface as any?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Clay is actually my favorite surface.  I haven't played in
a year on clay, so we'll see how it goes.  But I actually love playing on
clay.  I really like it.

Q.  Is it like riding a bicycle, you think?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  It is.  Except for I don't ride bicycles.  Hopefully it
won't be like riding a bicycle for me.  God.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports