Meaner Serena ready for Open battle
Source: Agencies |
January 15, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SERENA Williams has played two matches in five months and comes into the Australian Open still feeling the effects of a twisted ankle but the American has no doubts she can claim a 14th grand slam singles title.
The most dominant player of her generation returns to Melbourne Park after missing 2011's tournament during a year in which she battled injury and illness.
After bowing out of the US Open final against Sam Stosur with a sensational outburst at a chair umpire in September, the 30-year-old largely withdrew from tennis, skipping the northern hemisphere's autumn tournaments citing a mixture of boredom and fatigue.
She managed two matches at the lead-up Brisbane tournament before being struck down with an ankle injury and yet no-one dares write her off. Least of all herself.
Williams smiled languidly when asked whether she was ready for her bid for a sixth title at Melbourne Park.
"Yeah. You know, definitely. Two (matches) is plenty for me, for sure," she said.
Williams, who describes herself as lazy and uninterested in anything athletic, has floated above the rat-race for years in a sport dominated by egos, entourages and head doctors, never seriously getting out of bed for anything but the majors. Once on center court, however, the fires still burn after a long and storied career featuring three US Open titles, four Wimbledon crowns and the 2002 French Open since turning pro in 1995.
"I get the same burst, if not more. I love playing majors and I love competing. More than anything, I hate losing. That kind of makes me really hungry to work harder to get the results that I want."
Conversely for a woman who decries exercise, local newspapers have delighted in touting a leaner, meaner Serena, splashing pictures of the American's washboard stomach on their websites. Mentally she is relaxed as ever, finding time to engage in a Twitter dialogue with fans in between hit-ups at Rod Laver Arena and icing her sore ankle.
The most dominant player of her generation returns to Melbourne Park after missing 2011's tournament during a year in which she battled injury and illness.
After bowing out of the US Open final against Sam Stosur with a sensational outburst at a chair umpire in September, the 30-year-old largely withdrew from tennis, skipping the northern hemisphere's autumn tournaments citing a mixture of boredom and fatigue.
She managed two matches at the lead-up Brisbane tournament before being struck down with an ankle injury and yet no-one dares write her off. Least of all herself.
Williams smiled languidly when asked whether she was ready for her bid for a sixth title at Melbourne Park.
"Yeah. You know, definitely. Two (matches) is plenty for me, for sure," she said.
Williams, who describes herself as lazy and uninterested in anything athletic, has floated above the rat-race for years in a sport dominated by egos, entourages and head doctors, never seriously getting out of bed for anything but the majors. Once on center court, however, the fires still burn after a long and storied career featuring three US Open titles, four Wimbledon crowns and the 2002 French Open since turning pro in 1995.
"I get the same burst, if not more. I love playing majors and I love competing. More than anything, I hate losing. That kind of makes me really hungry to work harder to get the results that I want."
Conversely for a woman who decries exercise, local newspapers have delighted in touting a leaner, meaner Serena, splashing pictures of the American's washboard stomach on their websites. Mentally she is relaxed as ever, finding time to engage in a Twitter dialogue with fans in between hit-ups at Rod Laver Arena and icing her sore ankle.
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