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Q&A: THURSDAY, JULY
18
Serena Williams: on being the Wimbledon
champion
By
Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net
Susan
Mullane
Camerawork USA, Inc.
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Like she did after winning the Roland
Garros title in June, Serena Williams met with a select group of
American journalists after beating sister Venus for the Wimbledon
title and tennisreporters.net was part of the private round
table. Below are excerpts from Serena's thoughts only a few hours
after becoming the newly crowned Wimbledon champion.
Q:
How does it feel to be the Wimbledon champion? You seem pretty excited
to now be a member of the All England Club since you’ve won
the tournament?
Serena Williams: It’s a great
feeling for me and I’m really excited. It’s definitely
what I expected to feel like – this is what I wanted and I
planned for it. I planned to achieve and I was able to do it. They
tell me I have to wait for next year to get my members button. I
heard it’s really difficult to become a member – it’s
easier to win the title.
Q: For a while there you used to have
some niggling injuries – is that all gone now?
SW: I’m traveling with a personal
trainer. I think a lot of my injuries all along were mental injuries
because I could have been winning – I had chances here last
year at Wimbledon and last year at the French. I’ve just changed
– I think I’ve grew-up a little bit. No, I’m not
[a hypochondriac]– not anymore.
Q:
On that ace you served on the final point of the first set tiebreaker
in the final, did you hear a let call on that ball?
SW: No – Thank God I didn’t
cause that’s just my luck, to hit an unbelievable serve and
have it called a let. I just didn’t hear and if she [Venus]
didn’t, too bad. In the locker-room, she [Martina Navratilova]
was like, “Yeah, there was a let” and I said, “Nooooo.”
I don’t know [if Venus knows now], but I’m not telling
her. I’m definitely a little surprised. Was it for sure a let?
I think it was probably a mistake because I felt that serve.
Q:
Can you talk about winning Wimbledon?
SW: I was amazed that I won Wimbledon
because you set your goals, normally when you set your goals, you
set them above what you can reach. When you reach for the sky, you
don’t land on a star, that’s how I normally do it. I set
them way up there this time and I got it. For me, it was just wow,
two [Grand Slams] this year. And earlier this year, I was a goner
(injured and couldn’t play the Australian Open).
Q:
What was the problem with Venus’s arm during this final match?
SW: Well, she won’t admit it,
but her arm was really bothering her, but hey, as she says, she
has to compete. Yesterday we played doubles and it was hurting her
and I asked her if she was okay, but she was saying, “No, I
have to compete.” You can’t get her to give up on anything.
And she won’t admit to anything like that because she says
she’ll never make an excuse. She’s a little stubborn.
Q:
Venus says that she'll never truly be comfortable with beating you
in a match because you are sisters and so close. Do you think you'll
ever be comfortable with the idea of beating her in a match like
you did today?
SW: Oh no, because she's always gone
overboard with me. She's always gone out of her way to make sure
that I was happy. There are many times that she's done things for
me that nobody would have done. She saw to it that I was safe even
though she might not have been. And when I go places, she's always
calling to check on me. She actually worries about me like a parent.
In that sense, it's going to be difficult to accept that fact, but
hopefully, will share lot's of Grand Slam titles between us –
she has four and I have three.
Q:
You visited the Wimbledon museum the other day. What appealed to
you during your visit?
SW: The fashion – the dresses.
I loved the dresses. I was actually watching the TV one day when
it was raining and they were showing ’77 – Chris (Evert)
and Tracy Austin – the dresses, the one Chris wore was so nice.
And then in the museum they had these old white linen dresses and
they were the length of the ground. I noticed the girls were real
short back then, those dresses would be knee length for me.
Q:
The final that Venus and you just played could have been the most
powerful match between two women in the final here. What does that
say to you about the heights tennis has reached?
SW: Tennis has come a long way. Monica
[Seles] raised the level when she came along, hitting the ball very
hard. Obviously, Martina Navratilova raised the level also. This
is just the time for hard hitters, but there's also a lot of finesse
out there – you can't just hit every ball hard, you have to
have an angle here, a drop there a lob here. That's why we do well
in doubles because we hit hard, but have finesse, also.
Q:
Did you come prepared with an outfit for the Wimbledon ball or are
you going to have to go shopping for the affair?
SW: I planned to do well so I brought
a dress with me and everything, and shoes. You fail to plan, you
plan to fail – that's from my dad.
Q: How good can you be as you look
ahead at the rest of your career?
SW: I can be the best, but I have
a lot of competition. Not only Venus, but there's a lot of players
out there.
Q:
How will you celebrate your Wimbledon victory?
SW: I don't understand me – I
think there's an old lady living in this young body. I'm tired.
I'm hungry. All I had was a sandwich today cause you guys [media]
have really been pressing me. I just want to go home and be with
my dogs – I really miss them so much. That's enough for me,
the smallest things in life.
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