LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES

August 4, 2012

Serena Williams

LONDON, ENGLAND

S. WILLIAMS/M. Sharapova
6-0, 6-1

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  So many victories.  Where does this one fit in for you?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Oh, my gosh, this one is so high up there, being Olympic
gold champion, being Golden Slam champion singles and doubles, that's pretty
awesome.

Q.  How about the way you won this one?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I don't know.  I was so focused here.  I remember I was
serving and I was thinking, Serena, this is your best chance to win a gold
medal.  You played Wimbledon on grass.  You played great on grass.  Pull it
together.  I was thinking, I got to do this.

Q.  You were thinking this when?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Today.
I was like, I can do this.  This is so your surface, so just do it.

Q.  How important is it to win this gold medal when Venus won in Sydney?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, it's awesome.  She won against I think Dementieva, so
she won against a Russian I think in Sydney, too.
I would have been happy whether I would have got a silver or gold.  It's such
a great achievement to get on that medal stand.  So that was awesome.  But
obviously I wanted gold.
Now Venus and I both have gold singles, so it's pretty cool.

Q.  What about the historical aspect of this whole thing?  It was the most
one-sided final in Olympic tennis history.  You are the only person ever to
win Golden Slams in both singles and doubles.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I know.  Hey, I did something nobody's done.  So I'm really
excited about it.
I haven't even had time to think about it.  I'm hungry.  I got a doubles
match that I've got to get serious for.  We got to do this.  So, I don't know.
It was so windy.  Of course it's not windy now, go figure.  It was so windy,
you could see my hair.  I could barely see at times.

Q.  What happened do you think between Paris first round and this?  What
changed in your game?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  You know, I think it started before Paris.  I think it
started in Charleston.  I started playing really well, really confident,
talking to my dad about what I wanted to do.
Sometimes you stumble.  In March I stumbled, but then I got back up and
didn't quit.  I kept going.  I trained so hard, so hard in Paris.  You know,
I came to Wimbledon, did well.  Went to Stanford and here.
It was just all about doing well and not giving up today.

Q.  Talk about the dance.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I don't know.  I don't think I ever danced like that.  I
don't even know where the dance came from.  It's just a dance we do in
California, I'd say, West Coast.

Q.  Were you trying to win 6-Love, 6-Love?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  That would have been awesome only because against Maria, if
you give her any hope, she's trying to come back.  Okay, Serena, try to stay
focused because she's so good.  She won that one game, I could see her
pumping her fists.  I was like, Oh, boy, here she comes.  It was important
for me to go out there and do everything.

Q.  What about the flag?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  It was so windy.  At least the anthem was playing.  It was
such a great moment.  You know, I'm happy.

Q.  Didn't feel like an insult?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Oh, God, no.  It was amazing to just be up there for the
USA and hold this.  I'm surprised, it was just so, so windy out there.

Q.  Is this the best you played in a tournament from beginning to end?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Probably.  I was very consistent in this tournament from my
first match to my last match.  Singles and doubles I've been pretty
consistent, playing well.
So, yeah, in a tournament, yeah.

Q.  Do you have a name for the dance?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Actually, there is a name, but, I don't know, it's
inappropriate.

Q.  You have to tell us.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Oh, no (laughter).

Q.  You used the word 'surprised.'  But how surprised were you with the way
the match went?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I think I was just focused.  I don't think she did anything
wrong.  I was blind today.  It was something about today and this tournament,
I don't know.  I just played well.
So I think she did well.  Uhm, you know, I played important points well.

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