2014 #BOTWC: Serena Williams All-Access Q&A Session

2014 #BOTWC: Serena Williams All-Access Q&A Session

03 Aug, 2014

STANFORD, CA, USA – We’ve been camped out here at Stanford University for the 2014 Bank of the West Classic all week to watch the exciting matches and photograph the top players in the world of tennis. On Monday, World No. 1 Serena Williams spoke with the press for the first time since Wimbledon in a pre-tournament All-Access Q&A session.

Serena, who just defeated Petkovic (GER) in the Semifinal match yesterday (7-5, 6-0) advances to her third straight Bank of the West Classic Final! Today’s Final match takes place at 2PM at Stanford’s Taube Tennis Center.

2014 Bank of the West Classic  All-Access Pre-Tournament Press Conference with Serena Williams (Photo by Cindy Maram for Dig In Magazine | © Dig In Magazine/Cindy Maram)

2014 Bank of the West Classic All-Access Pre-Tournament Press Conference with Serena Williams 
(Photo by Cindy Maram for Dig In Magazine | © Dig In Magazine/Cindy Maram)

Here are some memorable quotes from that special day:

When we asked Serena what she has been doing in terms of her health, getting stronger and training for the tournament and the series, in general, she said:

“I’ve worked out really hard – running, swimming, jumping in the ocean, hoping no sharks will come and get me – and that always works really well for conditioning!”

2014 Bank of the West Classic All-Access Pre-Tournament Press Conference with Serena Williams (Photo by Cindy Maram for Dig In Magazine | © Dig In Magazine/Cindy Maram)

2014 Bank of the West Classic All-Access Pre-Tournament
Press Conference with Serena Williams
(Photo by Cindy Maram for Dig In Magazine | © Dig In Magazine/Cindy Maram)

Other responses to media questions via WTA Tennis were as follows:

On being in Stanford…
“I feel really good. I feel really happy to be here.

“But I feel really good about this tournament. It’s always been a special place for me.”

On what happened at Wimbledon…
“I was really sick. It kind of reminded me of when I had my other illness a while ago. That time I didn’t realize how sick I was until my dad came over and we were walking outside for no more than three minutes, and then I said, ‘Okay, I’ve got to go inside.’ And then I slept the whole day and woke up the next day. So after this time I had that flashback, that you’re in the moment and just don’t realize how sick you are until you step back and look at everything and kind of picture everything again.

“I didn’t really feel great walking on the court. I couldn’t even warm up for the match. I just got in the car right before the other match ended, got there, then got dressed and just walked on court.

“I was really scared after the match. I didn’t really realize how I felt until later, and it was just like… ‘Serena, take your time. You have the rest of your life to keep playing tennis hopefully.'”

On Venus trying to convince her to stop playing that match...
“That’s the fight in me. I always go, go, go. I never stop. I never want to give up. I never know when to say when. Venus was like, ‘Walk off the court.’ I think she almost punched me. ‘As the big sister I’m telling you you have to leave.’ But I was like, ‘It’s only half the court, I think can do it.'”

2014 Bank of the West Classic  All-Access Pre-Tournament Press Conference | Serena Williams answering questions from her Facebook Fans (Photo by Cindy Maram for Dig In Magazine | © Dig In Magazine/Cindy Maram)

2014 Bank of the West Classic All-Access Pre-Tournament Press Conference | Serena Williams answering questions from her Facebook Fans
(Photo by Cindy Maram for Dig In Magazine | © Dig In Magazine/Cindy Maram)

On having to pull out of Bastad, where she was defending champion...
“Most people, once they lose, they leave – but I stayed at Wimbledon until the tournament ended because the doctors told me to. I didn’t leave my house or my bed for a few days. And I stayed around in Europe because I was entered in Bastad – and I felt so bad about not being able to play there.”

On the “vacation” she took in Croatia…
“So I ended up going on what I call a vacation, which is like when you have fun but you practice in the morning, practice really early so you can have some fun the rest of the day. That’s what I did.”

“It was unexpected. It was last minute. I was like, ‘I’m going to play Bastad.’ But then I didn’t. So I just wanted to work out and train. And I didn’t know where to go, and then my hitting partner, Sascha, suggested we go to Croatia. I was like, ‘I’ve never been.’ He’s like, ‘They have more tennis courts than people there. That’s why there are so many good Croatian players coming up right now.’ It was true – everywhere you look there’s tennis. It was so pretty too. I never expected it to be that pretty.

“I was also able to practice ice cream catching. That’s the only way I eat ice cream now!”

About the author

Cindy Maram

Cindy Maram is a Dancer, Public Speaker and our Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the entertainment, fashion and arts publication, Dig IN Magazine. She is an accredited film critic for Cannes Film Festival in the South of France, Venice International Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, SFFilm Festival and CAAMFest, as well as a runway fashion photographer and editor for London Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week. She also serves as a professional sports photographer and writer. She is a prolific art critic providing media coverage for Art Basel Miami Beach and surrounding Miami Art Week fairs. As a creator, Cindy is a writer, vlogger, podcaster, social media strategist and manager possessing a Bachelor's Degree from UC Davis and Master's Degree completing graduate work in Mass Communications + Popular Culture Studies with an emphasis in Film/Marketing/Writing from Cal State Fullerton. Further, she is producer of independent feature length and short films, and is committed to supporting the visibility of underrepresented groups in the media and film industry.

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