Down Under
At the Australian Open, Serena is focused on winning, and U.S. men bond over backgrounds
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Serena Williams has never been inclined toward verbosity, and at the start of her 20th season as a tennis superstar, she hasn’t developed a penchant for chattiness.
So it came as no surprise that when meeting the international news media ahead of the Australian Open on Saturday, she chose to be cagey.
Williams, 35, arrives in Melbourne with the chance to win a 23rd career major tournament trophy. That would break her shared record (with Steffi Graf ) of 22 Grand Slam titles in the Open era and place her one away from equaling Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
Williams, however, had placed that potential achievement on her list of subjects not to be discussed.
“Oh, I’m not talking about that,” she said. “I’m just here to play and to win, obviously, but just to play.”
As to whether she’d divulge any details on her recent engagement to Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of the social network Reddit, Williams played it mostly coy.
Asked about the exciting news in her personal life, she countered with a sly smile, “Can you elaborate?” then added, “I’m just kidding.”
“It’s been really great,” said Williams, who wasn’t wearing an engagement ring. “I’ve said from the beginning I just didn’t want to think about it until after Australia because I was, like, Grand Slams mean a lot to me.
“I don’t think I’ve had an opportunity to let everything sink in. I won’t allow it to sink in because I’m so focused. It was right in the middle of preseason. Now I’m on the road, already back at work. I don’t want to get too happy because I want to stay focused.”
With the pending marriage supposedly on the back burner and questions such as whether the part-time fashion designer/ bride-to-be will create her own wedding dress unanswered, it was back to the basics of tennis.
Williams reached the final of the first three Grand Slam events last season, winning her 22nd major trophy at Wimbledon, but lost out on the title to current No. 1 Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open and Garbine Muguruza in the French Open.
After a semifinal defeat to Karolina Pliskova in the U.S. Open, Williams lost her No. 1 ranking to Kerber and shut down her year, prematurely, to nurse a left knee injury.
“For me, it wasn’t a great season,” Williams said of 2016. “I think for other people it would have been wonderful. It was what it was.”
Williams didn’t have a joyous start to the 2017 season, either. She committed 88 unforced errors in a 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 loss to fellow American Madison Brengle in the second round of the Auckland tournament nearly two weeks ago.
Williams’ opportunity to change her luck will commence with a first-round meeting against Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic on Tuesday. They’ve split their two prior meetings, with Bencic posting an upset in the 2015 Toronto semifinals.
Also at stake for Williams in this Australian Open is a possible return to the top of the rankings.
If Kerber gets to the final, win or lose, she retains the No. 1 status. For Williams to dethrone the German, she must reach the final, but if Kerber advances to the Round of 16, Williams must win the trophy.
“I didn’t come here to lose in the first round or the second round or at all,” Williams said.