by Bobby Chintapalli, TW Contributing Editor
Like it or not, win or lose, on court or off, Serena Williams dominated women’s tennis this year. She grabbed our attention in Melbourne in January and still had it in Doha last month. Even if we couldn’t look (or couldn’t look away), there she was through four seasons for many reasons, including quite a few that had nothing to do with her massive serves and crosscourt forehands. The queen of the court, the player ‘Sports Illustrated’ named female athlete of the decade, can even hold court off court, serving up quotable quotes as effortlessly as those aces out wide.
In fact it’s when her tennis fizzles that Serena really sizzles. Remember those comments after her loss at the French Open to eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova? “I lost because of me and not because of anything she did,” Serena said. “I pretty much gave it to her. It was like, Here, you know, do you want to go to the semis? Because I don’t. She was like, Okay.” Zing… and we all know there’s more where that came from.
You can call Serena ungracious… or maybe charming, dense, witty, bizarre, sensible, unbearable, inspiring. She can be all that and more – in just one interview. What you can’t call her is boring. Her pressers can be juicier than Tiger Woods’s text messages and funnier than his voice messages. They can also be longer than his apparently not-so-little black book. Is there a topic Serena hasn’t discussed, a product she hasn’t plugged, a new extracurricular activity she hasn’t mentioned? If you think so, chances are, you missed a few pressers from Wimbledon or some other tournament this year.
It’s not necessarily that Serena likes to talk. Often fans and journalists like Serena to talk. And talk and talk. She seems to get asked more questions – and certainly more odd, comical and inflammatory questions – than others. Perhaps to be newsworthy or just courteous, she also seems to answer more of them and relatively honestly at that.
I decided to recap the year of a player we live to watch or maybe watch to berate using her own words from her favorite eight weeks of the year, the Grand Slams. As I pored through every syllable she uttered during every press conference of every Grand Slam tournament, I wanted to hug her, lecture her, laugh, scream or throw my laptop out of the window. Not once did I want to yawn.
Australian Open
* Topics discussed: The heat, rankings, Andy Roddick, odd-year AO titles, the economy, President Barack Obama’s inauguration
* Products plugged: Hewlett Packard, Nike
* Extracurricular activities mentioned: Designing, playing guitar
Most interesting question: “With your present silhouette, do you suppose you’re able to bear the heat better than one day you might have?”
On whether being more “slender” this year helped her handle the heat (her answer to the question above): “Maybe with the fat I would be able to absorb more of the heat (laughter).”
On President Obama’s inauguration: “I was watching on the TV before I went out to play. I looked at my arm, and I literally had chill bumps. I’m a big fan of African American history, learning my roots so I can be a better person. You just look at all the things that we’ve come through. Now to have this opportunity… is amazing.”
On her winning the AO in odd years: “One year I wasn’t able to come back and defend my title. One year I went crazy. A couple years I went completely crazy. So hopefully I’ll be able to stay focused this year.
On Andy Roddick: “My biceps are probably still bigger than his (laughter).”
French Open
* Topics discussed: How drama follows her, the Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez incident, injuries, playing on clay
* Products plugged: Surprisingly… none?
* Extracurricular activities mentioned: Even more surprisingly… none?
Most interesting question: “I don’t think you’ve ever won a Slam without being able to scream. This could be a big challenge for you.” (A journalist asked this in response to Serena saying she was losing her voice.)
On whether Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez knew a ball touched her as Serena said and cameras suggested: “I hit that ball rather hard. She knew that ball hit her.”
On the drama in her life: “I’m like one of those girls on a reality show that has all the drama, and everyone in the house hates them because no matter what they do, like, drama follows them. I don’t want to be that girl.”
On how she played in her first-round match: “I played really horrible today… I just played junior tennis or even worse.”
On the calendar-year Grand Slam not being possible because she and Rafael Nadal lost: “Honestly, I’m glad I didn’t go down alone.”
On whether she would root for Roger Federer to win: “I like Del Potro’s game, because he’s young and he’s tall and he’s really nice to me. And Roger is really nice to me, too. Obviously I love Roger. But, yeah, him, and I like González. Well, González is hitting too many drop shots, so he kind of got me a little frustrated. So yeah. I don’t know. Maybe – I like Del Potro. I don’t know if he’s the favorite, but I’d just like to see him do well.”
Wimbledon
* Topics discussed: Venus Williams, Roger Federer, rankings, Russian players, Michael Jackson’s death, uses for trophies
* Products plugged: Nike t-shirts, Gatorade
* Extracurricular activities mentioned: Script-writing, designing
Most interesting question: “You were late on court. Jelena Jankovic was late for her match yesterday. Both of you look pretty perfect on court, your hair, you outfits. Does it take time you a long time to get ready? Does that affect how late you are on court sometimes?”
On Michael Jackson’s death: “”Words can’t express my shock and horror… I think any celebrity who met Michael Jackson was completely in awe. I know I was… [He] was the celebrity of all celebrities.”
On her forehand during her close match against Elena Dementieva: “My forehand didn’t show up today. I think he went to Hawaii (laughter).”
On Venus at Wimbledon: “I think she’s everyone’s worry. [She] has proven herself to be the best grass court player in our generation.”
On Nadal’s absence: “I was sad… I’m sure there’s a lot of guys on the men’s tour who were probably celebrating and partying.”
On Wimbledon perhaps scheduling players on Centre Court based on looks rather than talent: “Well, I think Roger’s hot, but he’s married…”
On what she admires most about Roger Federer: “I like how he hates to lose.”
On how there are so many Russian players: “Everyone is from Russia. Sometimes I think I’m from Russia, too… I think my name must be ‘Williamsova’.”
On whether she marvels at her accomplishments: “No. I have plenty of time to think about that when my career is over… I feel like there’s so much more I would like to do.”
On her trophies: “I use some of my trophies for makeup brushes, so, you know, maybe I’ll just take a step back and be like, Hmm. Take all the makeup brushes out and really appreciate every title and every trophy.”
On whether she was disappointed not to have the Number 1 ranking: “I’d rather be No. 2 and hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be No. 1 and not have any.”
US Open
* Topics discussed: Her semifinal outburst, Kim Clijsters, Melanie Oudin
* Products plugged: Her book (‘On the Line’), HSN collection, Nike Delicious t-shirts, Wilson
* Extracurricular activities mentioned: Writing, fashion, designing, acting
Most interesting question: “Is it harder to play against somebody who is nice as opposed to someone who is maybe a pain in the ass?”
On Kim Clijsters: “Seems like she’s even faster than what she was before. I was thinking that maybe I should have a baby and then I’ll come back faster. (laughter.) That was my observation, so I’m thinking about it.”
On Melanie Oudin: “She’s a real fighter. It’s great for the United States and great for women’s tennis… Now I don’t have to have so much pressure on Fed Cup all the time.”
On what little Serena might think of today’s Serena: “I would think that this Serena Williams today is super cool. I would love to get her autograph. I think she would have been my idol, because it would have been like growing up there weren’t too many black people.”
On being a champion: “What makes a champion isn’t how well they do. It’s about how well they can recover when they fall, or if they fall.”
On hearing fans yelling: “I hear it sometimes. I heard a guy in the crowd saying, Stop hitting lobs, so I didn’t hit any more lobs after that. My lob was not working today (laughter).”
On what she said to the lineswoman during her now-infamous semifinal outburst: “What did I say? You didn’t hear? Oh.”
On how that semifinal ended: “I planned on hitting a couple of aces, but I guess it didn’t work out.”
On whether the weather contributed to her outburst: “What? That’s like the craziest question I ever heard… Usually if it’s hot you lose your temper, not when it’s cold. Come on.”
On what she learned from the outburst: “I think the whole point of learning from your mistakes is not to do the same thing. I definitely would, I think, have a more professional way of voicing my opinion… I want to get another bad line call so I can get some more practice and see how I do. That would be awesome… I probably would even smile.”
On what the money means to her: “You know, when I first started playing tennis, I never ever thought of a paycheck. I play to win; I play to be happy; I play because I enjoy what I do.”
