Serena Williams – 26.05.2013

TENNIS – 2013 French Open: S.Williams d. Tatishvili 6-0 6-1


Q.  Quite a dramatic contrast to your first round last year.  Has it been a
year when you've changed particularly?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Oh, yeah.  I think it was -- obviously it's been a good
year.  But like I can say from last year, you never really know what's gonna
happen or what can happen.

Q.  There was a very long game in the second set, and it seemed like you
weren't going to give that up, went into an incredibly long rally, finally
won that.  Did that sort of fire you up or did that tell you that you're
here, you're ready, anything like that?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, it definitely got me really intense, and I didn't
have too many long points in the match.  I was excited to have that one,
because I feel on this surface you have to be ready to have lots of long
points and be ready to win those long points.
So I felt really good about it.  Even though I lost the next point, I still
felt really good about winning the long one.

Q.  First rounds can always be tricky.  What was your mindset coming into
this particular match?  Notwithstanding last year, but were you nervous?  Did
you feel like you were right where you needed to be?  What was your feeling
coming on the court?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I was definitely nervous.  I have to say I'm always a
little nervous going into first-round matches at Slams, but this time I
wasn't as nervous as I was, you know, previously or another in other Grand
Slams.
But for the most part, I, you know, felt pretty safe and felt good about my
game and that if I can just do what I do in practice, I'll be okay.

Q.  There is 15  US women in the main draw; more than the other
countries.Quantity isn't necessarily quality, but it's sort of a step in the
right direction.  Can you talk about that for a second.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I think the quality over the past year has jumped
tremendously with the U.S. players.  On the female, female U.S. players.  I
think last year here, outside of me, all the U.S. girls did really, really
well, and I think we started to see then just so many players just popping up
left and right.
That's 15 in the main draw?  That's pretty awesome.  Yeah.  So it is a lot of
players, but they're all really young.  So there is still an opportunity to
grow.

Q.  You have said that your dad is like the body and your mom is like the
spine when it comes to just bringing different sensibility to your
experience.  Just talk about that, about how your two parents just bring
different elements and how that's helped you.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Well, they have been so instrumental in my career, and they
have been so amazing in my career.
I think they have so much wisdom between them both.  Like I can travel with
my dad and win Grand Slams, and I can travel with my mom and win Grand Slams
or tournaments.  But, you know, they both have a different view and a
different aspect and a different look at the game.
But I think not only that, for me it's always nice to have family around, and
if I have a problem outside of tennis or something else, I always feel
comfortable, you know, I can kind of talk to them about it, too.
So, yeah, I think they are obviously one of the main reasons that I'm here.

Q.  Differences of their views on tennis, how would you put that?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  It's not so different.  I mean, they both have a lot of the
same views, but then I think my dad might be a little more aggressive
playing-wise style.  My mom is more I think the consistent style, but she's
very aggressive, too.

Q.  When did you decide you wanted to speak in French during your interview?
 How do you feel it went?  How did you learn?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Last year.  But it didn't work out for me.  So decided a
while ago that I should just -- I mean, I have been speaking French for years
and years, but I don't really have a lot of confidence.  (Smiling.)
I just had to kind of jump in.  Like once I get there and I get warmed up, I
know how to say things and what I can speak.  It's just getting that
confidence to speak in French.  It's way, way, more nerve-wracking than
playing tennis.

Q.  You had a great rivalry with Martina Hingis, and she comes back to Roland
Garros this year as a coach of Pavlyuchenkova.  What do you think of that?
 Is that a good thing for women's tennis?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I don't know if it's good for women's tennis, but it's
exciting to see Martina around and see her wisdom going to another player.
 And Pavlyuchenkova, I know she had a really good win today.  Tough win.  It
was good for her.
I have seen improvements already.  I think they make a great team.  They get
along well.  They seem to have so much fun.  I think it's really nice.