ROGERS CUP WOMEN

August 9, 2014

Serena Williams

MONTREAL, QUEBEC

V. WILLIAMS/S. Williams
6-7, 6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Does it lessen the sting at all to lose to your sister?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No.  For me it was just a regular match.  Obviously she's
my sister, but I still want to go out there and try to play well and try to
win.

Q.  Huge number of aces, but some double-faults.  Was the strategy all in for
the power on that first serve?  Is that why those numbers reflect that?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No.  I don't know.  I just hit so many double-faults this
whole week.
Yeah, I have to really cut back on that if I want to do some winning here.
 Not here, obviously.  I lost.  But in general.

Q.  At times you seemed frustrated with your play, your back-stroke.  Was it
troublesome today, your mechanics?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  It was just off, whatever.  I think Venus played a great
match.  It was what it was.
I just got to do better, that's all.

Q.  Can you talk a bit about your comeback in the first set.  Seemed like you
dug deep.  You were down 3-1.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I started to just stay focused and not make as many
errors, I think.  I was serving well in the first set.  That was really able
to help me to be able to come through.  Then I wasn't really able to serve
well after that, yeah.

Q.  Did you actually hang out with your sister last night?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No, no.  I was tired.  I kind of went home and went to bed.

Q.  If you analyze the game, what do you think she was doing better than you
today?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Well, she was really opening the court well.  She's such a
good mover.  She moves really well.  I think her serve was way more
consistent than mine.  I had more aces, but she just was serving better.
Ultimately I think she returned better, as well.  So, yeah.

Q.  You've been saying all week how proud you are of your sister.  She had
tough matches all week long and showed mental strength.  How do you feel
about that?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, it's great.  You know, she's been doing really well.
 Obviously I always want her to do the best that she can.  I want to do the
best that I can, too.
But, yeah, I'm really happy for her.

Q.  Were you happy with what you worked on this week, today aside, the state
of your game, where you're trying to get it to?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, you know, I'm just trying to continue to go forward.
 At the end of the day I want to be able to do really well for the rest of
the year.  Hopefully I can do well in New York.
But I'm going to have to continue to play the way I'm practicing and really
transfer that into the match games.

Q.  You played a great game.  After a match like that, do you look at the
stats and work it out with your coach and look at the double-faults, the
number of aces, adjust your strategy for the next game?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, absolutely.  I don't think I played a great game
today.  Let's just face it.  I served well in the first set, but that was
that.
Yeah, so I definitely need to go back and analyze it, figure out how to be
more consistent, how to play more consistent on a more consistent level.

Q.  You've had a singles Grand Slam win in nine of the last 12 years.  How
important is it for you to make this 10 in 13?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I'm not even thinking of it anymore.  I haven't even been
able to get to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam this year.  At this point,
really just looking forward to next year, to be honest.

Q.  Venus moves back into the top 20 now.  How high can she climb again, do
you think?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Well, I don't know.  I mean, obviously I'm sure her goal is
to be the best.  But my goal is to be the best, as well.
You know, we'll see.  We're both trying to do the best that we can.

Q.  We've seen you have some pretty big comebacks in your career against a
lot of players.  If it's your sister on the other side of the net, is it
difficult to get it up to that level of intensity?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No, not anymore.  Definitely in the beginning, yeah, when I
first started playing her.  But in the past couple of times we played, few
years, no.
We look at it as just a normal match against a great player.  That's all it
is.  You're playing someone great and you just have to go for it.

Q.  You were saying you were just looking forward to next year.  There's a
little tournament in New York in a couple weeks.  Are you overlooking the US
Open or just figuring that you have to lower your standards to get through
the rest of the year?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No.  I think you're looking at it way too deep.  You're
making a mountain out of a molehill.  What is this, like The Enquirer?  Don't
make a mountain out of a molehill.
I'm just saying I've had a really disappointing year, especially in the Grand
Slams, for me.  So I'm not going to put any pressure on myself.  I almost
feel like the pressure is lifted because I haven't performed the way I've
wanted to personally.  Maybe for other people, but for me it's not the way
I've wanted to perform.
In a way, I don't feel like, you know, a ton of pressure going into the Open.
 I almost feel like it's lifted.  I look forward to next year because I don't
have any points to defend at any of the slams.
THE MODERATOR:  Questions in French.

Q.  You only played once in the past five years.  Sometimes you say this
could be the last time.  Did you think about this at all today?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I don't understand.

Q.  Against Venus.
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Oh, okay.
I believe we are going to keep playing.  She's playing well and I'm playing
well, so I believe it's possible to play again.

Q.  The crowd from Montréal was very happy to see you again after 14 years.
 What were your feelings about that?  Can we hope to see you again two years
from now?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  The crowd is very nice here.  It's true that I've been not
coming for 14 years.  But I'm very pleased I came back.  I know I probably
will come back.  I believe it's possible.

Q.  What made the difference today?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I made many mistakes today.  I believe I didn't play well.
 When I make so many mistakes, for me it's impossible to win against her if I
play that way.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports