Serena: Motherhood fuels fire
NEW YORK: Motherhood has had anything but a mellowing effect on Serena Williams, who arrives at the US Open in pursuit of a recordequaling 24th Grand Slam title.
“If anything, I have more fire in my belly,” Williams, a six- time US Open winner, said Saturday ( Sunday in Manila). “It’s very hard to describe. I thought after having a child I would be more relaxed, but I’m not.
“I work just as hard, if not harder actually. I feel like I take it just as serious, if not more. That’s been really surprising for me.”
Williams, 36, hasn’t won a Grand Slam title since the birth of daughter Olympia last September 1. The difficult delivery was followed by life saving surgery to combat blood clots and Williams missed the Australian Open in January.
She withdrew from a scheduled fourth- round clash with Maria Sharapova at the French Open, then roared into the Wimbledon final only to fall to Germany’s Angelique Kerber.
Since then there’s been a shockingly lopsided loss to Johanna Konta in San Jose and a second-round exit in Cincinnati, but Williams said that she’s trying not to get down on herself as the breakthrough victory fails to materialize.
“It hasn’t quite happened,” she said. “It’s been just really a few months into me playing after having a baby. I feel like I have to be nice to myself.
“I feel like I have to just be happy, continue to work hard. I’ve been working incredibly hard. I feel like it will for sure pay off eventually.”
Awarded the 17th seeding at the US Open, nine spots above her world ranking, Williams nevertheless faces a daunting path to the second week of the tournament.
Up against 60th-ranked Magda Linette of Poland in the first round, she could run into her sister Venus in the third round and world number one Simona Halep in the fourth as she battles in a quarter that also includes two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza and eighth-seeded Karolina Pliskova.
“I don’t know my draw, but I feel like if I want to be the best, I’m going to have to start beating these people anyway,” Williams said.