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Q. When you were growing up, I'm sure there was a stage where you thought making one Grand Slam final would be great. Do you still get that innocent excitement about it at all, or have you done so much, it starts to become a bit routine?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, it hasn't been routine because every match for me is hard, and every match is not easy. So I always get really excited.

Q. In 1999 when you played Steffi, you were really respectful of her. You called her Miss Graf. I'm wondering if some of the younger players have ever called you Miss Williams and what it's like to be on the other side of the equation now?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, gosh, that is true. I don't know. That's an interesting question. I don't know.

Q. Never been called Miss Williams?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, no.

Q. Obviously it's Angelique's first final, but can you remember what it was like for your first final, what your feelings were as you were about to walk out onto the court?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I felt really good my first final. I just had this feeling before the tournament started that I was going to do really well there.

She might have the same feeling, I don't know. But it felt good.

Q. Do you think there's a difference because you were quite a bit younger than Angie; innocence and exuberance of youth?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely think that could make a difference. When you're young, you're pretty fearless. But, you know, Angie I think has been really proving herself throughout the years, that she can play well.

Q. The days before big finals, do you always spend them in the same way?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, pretty much. I do a lot of the same stuff. I don't really do much. I just stay at my place. I just watch TV.

Q. Any special thing on TV?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I mean, usually I watch some of the matches. That's about it.

Q. The world has lost a great composer David Bowie. What is your favorite song?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I mean, I can't think offhand what my favorite song is. But, yeah, that was a sad loss for everyone.

Q. Last year in the Grand Slams you dropped some sets every tournament. Of course, in New York you lost the match. This year you are going straight to the final with a clean run. Do you feel you're playing somehow better?
SERENA WILLIAMS: That's a really good question. I think I'm playing better. I know my practices are better. Hopefully I'm playing better. So I definitely can play more consistent and more mentally stable, so to say.

Q. The final is still to be played, but we can stay till now this is your best slam in a year?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, for sure, I would say this is probably the best slam I've played in a year, and I've won a lot in a year. Again, I haven't won this one. But even if I don't win, I really can take away that I've been really consistent, and I want to continue that.

Q. When it comes to experience over time and playing all the majors, what is the one thing that I guess resonates with you more now in terms of what you've gone through in your experience preparing for major finals that maybe 10 years ago you didn't know or you didn't realize, take to heart as much?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I kind of relish every win and every final and every match now. I think maybe in the past I didn't as much. I was just like going through the motions. Even though I was super excited, I just feel like now it's even more exciting.

Q. Did you watch the Djokovic-Federer match last night? Did you feel for Roger? You're the same age. He's been No. 1. He's not anymore. Did you feel sorry for Roger going down in that way?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I really didn't have a chance to watch it. I was working on some things. But I think it went four sets. I didn't have time to watch it.

Q. Two years ago you played in Charleston against Angie Kerber. She won. Of course she remembers that match. Do you remember any of it still?
SERENA WILLIAMS: In Charleston?

Q. Cincinnati, I'm sorry.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I thought she played unbelievable in that match. That's something that I'll never forget. I just remember her serving really well, her moving well, her being determined to win that.

I think from then on out I've been really focused that she's someone that I really, you know, and everyone, has to take very serious.

Q. What athlete in another sport do you just admire for the person's brilliance, passion? Who would you go out of your way to watch?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, I really admire Roger and Novak. I love watching them play, both respectively. I mean, they're in my sport.

I don't watch a tremendous amount of sport, outside of football, American football. I like Messi a lot. I think he's a pretty amazing player, footballer.

Q. Obviously you were under huge pressure in New York. Do you feel any less pressure here or is the same with the chance to match Steffi's record?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, everyone has expectations. I'm the favorite. I was the favorite in New York. I feel like I could have done better in New York. But that was a learning experience. So I'm going to hopefully take that to the court for not only this tournament but for the rest of these slams.

Q. When you come out to play, something that's really noticeable about you is your intense focus. You seem really within yourself. That's something that maybe a lot of young players struggle with. How did you teach yourself to focus in that way?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think in general just watching people that played before me. Every coach, every person, my dad always saying, Just focus on this, focus on this point. I feel like everyone says that. I kind of just take that to heart.

Q. Can you remember the first time you ever fist pumped? People always say that Lleyton Hewitt is the one who started the c'mons. I imagine you did it before him.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I have no idea. Maybe in a junior tournament in 10 divisions back in Compton.

Q. You say you spend much of the time at the hotel not doing much. Is that the price of fame, of being such a recognizable figure? It's hard for you to get out and wander the streets of Melbourne kind of thing. Is that part of it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, definitely. I don't really leave my house so much, even in Florida or L.A. or Paris. I kind of just stay at home a lot.

It will go away soon. But for now, you know, I'd rather have this than something else because it means I'm doing well.

Eight-time Miami Open champion Serena Williams extended her dominant run in Key Biscayne with a win over Zarina Diyas, 7-5, 6-3.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Last time these two met, Diyas only took two games off of Williams in her 54-minute loss at Indian Wells last year. The Kazakh wasn't keen to repeat the experience, and gave the American plenty of trouble throughout the match.

Diyas had Williams on the ropes early on, her pace and quickness around the court troubling the World No.1's normally reliable game. But Williams hasn't lost a match in Miami since 2012, and she wasn't about to do it today. She punished any short serve that came her way with her powerful game and let the crowd fire her up to take the first set.

With a set under her belt Williams played more freely, finding her all-court game to get ahead 4-0. But Diyas had a second wind late in the match, playing more aggressively to rattle off three straight games and erode the lead to 4-3. The eight-time Miami champion remained unbothered, though, closing out the match in just over an hour and a half.

But beyond reaching the Miami Open fourth round for a whopping fifteenth time and extending her tournament win-loss record to 75-7, the win is a major milestone in Williams' decorated career.

Williams now owns 750 career match wins across all levels, a 750-125 lifetime record. She currently sits seventh on the all-time list for match wins, closing in on Lindsay Davenport's record of 753 wins. Martina Navratilova holds the all-time record with 1442 wins.

- Serena Williams emerged victorious in the first all-American final since 2012 - the first on red clay since 2002 - defeating countrywoman Madison Keys, 7-6(5), 6-3, to snap a nine-month title drought and win the Internazionali BNL d'Italia for the fourth time in her illustrious career.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!

"I feel like it was important for me to just go out there like usual," she said in her post-match press conference. "It's a totally new match, it's a different week, you know, and hopefully just win one. If not, hope for next time, next week."

Playing in her third final of 2016, Williams had spent the season in search of her first title since the Western & Southern Open last summer, and was the heavy favorite to break that duck against Keys, who was playing the biggest final of her career on what had hitherto been her least favorite surface.

"I think no matter how many times you play Serena, you always go in and you can just feel her presence," Keys said after the match. "That's always an extra thing that you have to be worried about during the match.

"But for me today it really wasn't so much about how big the tournament was or anything like that. It was really just wanting to go out and do my best and give my best performance."

None of that seemed to matter from the outset as Keys unlocked the early break, leading 3-1 in the first set. Williams steadied from there, winning the next three games and later grabbing the opening set in a tie-break.

"I think she's such a powerful player," Williams said, backing up her praise of Keys at net, when she predicted her opponent could be a future World No.1. "Obviously going in, I knew that, but I was just trying. I think I was pretty much able to just get back what I could, you know, and that's all I was trying to do was just to go out there and be consistent, and, yeah, make my shots."

Serving for the match in the second, there would be one final momentum shift as the 21-time Grand Slam champion was broken one game from the win, but the break was swiftly repaid in kind and Williams was the winner of a 70th career title - the fifth woman to achieve such a total in singles after Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, and Margaret Court. In all, she hit four fewer winners than Keys (13 to 17), but also eight fewer errors (24 to 32), and converted all but one of her six break point chances to seal the match in just under 90 minutes.



Missing the Mutua Madrid Open due to illness, Williams was playing her first red clay event of the season; the win in Rome sets her up in good stead to defend her French Open title as she attempts to win her fourth crown there, as well.

"I have tried to defend there once, twice, three times before. Didn't quite work so well. But this year is different. I'm going to definitely go in there and I feel more calm and I don't feel stress to, like, have to win. You know, I feel like I just am happy to be out here."

For Keys, it was a breakthrough run; recently pairing with new coach Thomas Hogstedt, the 21-year-old is set to re-enter the Top 20 at No.17 - not too far from her career-high of No.16.

"I think having a couple of Top 10 wins this week was really big for me and playing people who have done very well in Roland Garros and just on clay in general. But I think the biggest thing is just how calm I have stayed on court and really, even in tough situations, stayed calm and collected and just really focused on my game, and I feel like I'm just playing much smarter tennis."

Q. She made you work for it today. How would you assess that performance?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it was pretty good, you know, especially in the second set at least. Yeah, she played better than I've ever seen her play before. She was just hitting line shots from the first point to the last.
Yeah, it was good for me to get through that.

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Serena Williams second round press conference
Q. How important was mental strength in that win?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, there were times where I was down and out. I just kept fighting. That's what I know I can do best. I knew that I could count on that, rely on that.
Q. If you're going to struggle and fight, is this the best venue for you to do it at where you have the grass underfoot, big serve going?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't think that's a fair statement. I think I've struggled and fought on every surface and I've come out on top.
It really doesn't matter what surface it is for me.
Q. Your racquet ended up in the cameraman's lap after that first set. Did that help you in some way to get the frustration out?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I guess so. I was just really, really, really angry. I had a lot of chances. She got really lucky on some shots. She just was playing great. I was a little disappointed in myself at that point.
Q. What are you most proud of of yourself today?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm proud of how I closed it out that last game, I thought it was a very strong game. Being able to get through that match, it wasn't easy, but I was able to get through it.
Q. What makes Wimbledon so special to you and would you have any advice for kids to come to Wimbledon, as well?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think Wimbledon obviously is a special place just in the name itself. You just think of so much history, just so many things.
I think it really is cool and awesome to encourage the youth to come out here and see some amazing tennis by so many great players. Maybe they'll choose tennis for their future.
Q. Did the racquet end up in the cameraman's lap? At the end of the match were you able to see the funny side of that?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually, I gave it to a fan, yeah.
Q. It slid off the court.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know what happened to it in between that.
Q. When you can come through tough matches like that, you must be proud of the fact you were able to do that. You talked about mental strength before.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I'm super proud of that. I think I'm amazing when it comes to tight matches and getting through it, you know, just really fighting till the end. I don't give up.
I think that was one of the things I was able to do today.
Q. Venus has spoken out the last couple days about her unhappiness with Wimbledon putting more men's matches on the biggest courts. You've been on the big courts in your first two matches. Do you feel this is still an issue that women's tennis should be trying to make progress on?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think in the first couple days they put some more women's matches on the center courts. Hopefully they can keep making some progress.
Q. What was the story with that fan? You stood there for a while and made sure you signed the racquet for the fan. I think the fan gave you something, too.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I see her a lot at my matches in different places. She's really cool. She asked me for the racquet, so I kind of wanted to give it to her.
Q. What did she give you?
SERENA WILLIAMS: She gave me a shirt that had a taco on it. She knows I like tacos.
Q. Talking about sexism in court scheduling
SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm really not in the mood to talk about that. Can we ask any other question?
Q. You've won this title here six times. You know what it takes to win the title here. Where do you think your form is at at the moment and where do you think it needs to be to win another?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think my form, obviously it has to be somewhere to be competing in Wimbledon. I do believe that every match I do plan on getting better. I hope to play more matches to get better. I'm ready for it. I'm ready for any challenge.
Q. In the first set you had that overrule on a Hawk Eye. What were you thinking when that happened?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I just thought, If that is not good luck...
I honestly thought that ball was out. It was just really unlucky at that point. I just was very, very, very angry. I mean, not at the point, just that I wasn't able to win that set.
Q. Do you trust Hawk Eye? Do you think it's totally, completely accurate?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I could have swore that ball was out. I thought that ball was out, but...
Q. What are your thoughts about the possibility of a penalty, a fine for example, as a result of the racquet episode?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It's definitely a fine.
Q. So when you look back on it, will you look back on it with regret or just think it was in the moment and that's it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I've cracked a number of racquets throughout my career. I've gotten fined a number of times for cracking racquets. In fact, I look at it like I didn't crack one at the French Open or Rome, so I was doing really good. I don't want to go too long without cracking a racquet.
You know, I'm on track. I try to crack a certain amount a year. I'm a little behind this year, so it was good.
Q. On TV, Jim Courier said you were in warrior mode in the third set. How would you describe your mode?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think that's a really good way to describe it. I felt like I was definitely in warrior mode. I was out there playing for my life at that point, trying to play to stay in the tournament.
Q. I believe you sent out an interesting tweet about history and records. Talk about how thoughts about history
SERENA WILLIAMS: I sent out a tweet about history and records? I don't think it was me. Maybe it was someone else.
Q. Could you talk about your thoughts about
SERENA WILLIAMS: That is another thing I'm not talking about anymore. Sorry.
Q. I don't know if you saw any of it, but Sam Querrey is up two sets to none against Djokovic. What are your thoughts on that result, if he can finish it out?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It's torn because Sam's an American. I always root for Sam. But on the flipside, I always root for the champions. I really want Djokovic to get this.
So it's not over. I think he still has a chance. You know, I didn't know that.
Q. What is your reaction to learning of how Venus won today, and your thoughts in general on how far she's come in this tournament with the obstacles of the rain and a tough match today?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm just glad I don't have to play her in the fourth round, as I do at every Grand Slam. That's the only thing I'm just happy about. Obviously I'm happy she's won. But I'm just happy I don't have to play her.
Q. How do you change your mindset from being in, effectively, competition against your sister and then playing doubles with her? Do you have a healthy sibling rivalry? How do you approach the competitions?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I approach it now as any other match. But in the beginning, obviously I wasn't able to approach it like that. Now it's different. It's like, Okay, she's probably my toughest opponent, hands down, that I've ever played. It's never exciting to go against her.
Then coming back to play doubles, it's like you want to be able to win that match, too.
Q. In the interview when you came off court after your win, you said, I know mentally no one can break me. What did you mean by that?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it says it in itself. I've been through a lot in my career, on the court and off the court. I've been in every position you can be in. So I know mentally I'm, hands down, one of the toughest players out here. It's very difficult to break me down mentally.
Q. How is your mother holding up? I know she was running back and forth between the two matches.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I know. That must have been really annoying and difficult for her, especially with the rain, the stopping and the going.
Yeah, but I'm glad we were both able to get that win today.
Q. A lot of players feed off momentum and playing really well, but because you can raise your levels when you need to, because of you mental strength, you don't need the same type of momentum that other players might?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm great with momentum. If things aren't going my way, I try to hang in there another way and win. I like to believe it's something really great that I can do.
THE MODERATOR: Last question.
SERENA WILLIAMS: No takers, great. Thank you.

After going missing on the Tour for months, Williams re-emerged - of all the places - on the baseline of Centre Court at the All England Club. Or perhaps it was during a pre-Wimbledon phone call between player and coach. But Williams was her normal self in Saturday's final.
Standing on the players' lawn after Williams had defeated Germany's Angelique Kerber in straight sets, Mouratoglou spoke of his relief. Not relief that the Californian had finally put herself level with Steffi Graf's modern era record of 22 Grand Slam titles, but relief that "Serena is back", having not been herself in her defeats in this year's Australian Open and Roland Garros finals.
"If I'm totally honest, I'm not relieved to have the 22nd, I'm relieved to have Serena back. Everything depends on that,” said the Frenchman. “I don't look at the reward, I look at how to achieve it. There was something missing for a few months and the thing that was missing was just Serena. The tennis player was there but Serena as a person wasn't really herself, so she was much more beatable.
"She got that back over time. I think we didn't realise how much time she needed to recover from the loss at the US Open [to Roberta Vinci in the semi-finals last year]. Maybe I'm being wrong, but that's how I feel.
"I spoke to her on the phone a few days after the Roland Garros final and I thought to myself, 'OK, she's back'. She sounded like Serena and before she wasn't. She was thinking like Serena. She's probably the greatest of all-time so she's probably not thinking like everyone else. That's what's so special, and she didn't lose that, it's come back. It was just lost for a few months."
Mouratoglou said that Kerber made it "tough" for Williams. "Kerber played really well. Kerber is very difficult to manipulate on a tennis court because she reads the game so well. She has a good answer to all the problems. But she's a bit predictable, otherwise we would have been in trouble. Serena did the job.
"What you saw today, what you saw in the semis and what you saw in the second round [against Christina McHale] - that was Serena. When she was in trouble, boom, boom, she did it. When she needed to close, boom, she did it. That is Serena. I didn't see that for months."

It was a tightly drawn match from start to finish, but Serena Williams outgunned Angelique Kerber in straight sets to win her seventh Wimbledon title - a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title.

Playing in their second Grand Slam final of 2016, the No.4 seed Angelique Kerber came out on fire against the World No.1, and neither player gave an inch. The pair held on to their serves for the first eleven games of the match, a baseline battle punctuated by sizzling rallies.

But a pair of costly errors from Kerber, serving to stay in the set at 6-5, gave the defending champion the first break of the match to take the opening set.

Kerber brought up her first break point at 3-3 in the second - the first break point Serena had faced since her fourth round match against Svetlana Kuznetsova - but the World No.1 responded in emphatic fashion. She fired off a pair of back to back aces and outpaced Kerber to see off the chance.

Serena summoned up one last break of serve, then reeled off a monster service game to clinch the match and The Championships, 7-5, 6-3.

The finalists met Sue Barker on court afterwards for the traditional BBC post-match interview.

"I just want to say really congrats to Serena. You really deserve the title, your next title. You're a great champion and a great person," Kerber enthused.

"It's always an honor to play against you in the final. We played a great match - really, congrats! You deserve it. Well done Serena."

"It's the best feeling to play here on the Centre Court," the German added. "I really had the best two weeks playing here in Wimbledon, it's really the best feeling I've had."

Serena also had nothing but praise and respect for her opponent.

"Obviously, Angelique - you know, I love playing her. She's such a great opponent, she really brings out the best tennis in me," she said. "And once we get off the court, she's such a wonderful person to be around just to smile at. Thank you for being a great person."

With 22 major titles under her belt, Serena is now tied with Steffi Graf for the all-time most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era.

"It's been incredibly difficult not to think about it. I had a couple of tries this year and I lost to two incredible opponents - one of them being Angelique!

"But it makes the victory even sweeter, to know how hard I've worked for it."

On Saturday afternoon Serena Williams tied Steffi Graf's long-standing Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles with victory over Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final.

To celebrate the historic feat, wtatennis.com is going to run down 22 of the more memorable numbers from a truly remarkable career...

750,000 - The amount in dollars Serena received for winning her first major, the 1999 US Open; the prize money for victory at this year's Wimbledon was around $2,590,000

346 - It has taken Serena 346 matches to win her 22 majors; Graf won her 22nd title (1999 Roland Garros) in her 303rd match

304 - Serena has the second-most Grand Slam match wins in Open Era with 304 (Martina Navratilova 306)

83 - At all four Grand Slam tournaments, Serena has an 83% or better winning percentage: Australian Open (74-10, 88%), Roland Garros (60-12, 83%, Wimbledon 66-10, 90%), US Open (84-10, 89%)

79 - Serena has won nearly 79% of her 28 Grand Slam finals. Her only defeats came at the 2001 US Open (to Venus Williams), 2004 Wimbledon (to Maria Sharapova), 2008 Wimbledon (to Venus Williams), 2011 US Open (to Sam Stosur), 2016 Australian Open (to Kerber) and 2016 Roland Garros (to Garbiñe Muguruza). This is the second-best winning percentage in the Open Era after Court (11-1)

64 - Remarkably, Serena has won more than a third of the 64 Grand Slams that she has contested

30 - Nine of Serena's 22 majors have come after turning 30; by winning the Wimbledon final, Williams (who is 34 years and 287 days old at the end of the tournament) also broke her own record as the oldest Open Era Grand Slam champion

22 - She has now equaled Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles and moved within touching distance of Margaret Court's all-time leading tally of 24

20 - Since Serena lifted the 1999 US Open, 20 different women have tasted Grand Slam success

18 - The age Serena won her first Grand Slam title, at the 1999 US Open

16 - Serena has the longest winning span between majors of any woman in the Open Era at 16 years and 10 months between 1999 US Open and 2016 Wimbledon (Chris Evert, Navratilova and Graf had 12-year spans)

14 - Of her 22 Slam final victories, 14 have come in straight sets

12 - This fortnight Serena was playing her 22nd major as the No.1 seed. She has won 12 of them

9 - Nine of Serena's Grand Slam titles have come alongside current coach Patrick Mouratoglou

8 - Serena won eight straight Grand Slam singles finals between 2012 Wimbledon and 2015 Wimbledon; losses on each side were 2011 US Open (Samantha Stosur) and 2016 Australian Open (Kerber)

7 - Victory over Kerber brought Serena her seventh title at Wimbledon - her most successful Grand Slam venue; she has six titles at both the Australian and US Opens, and three at Roland Garros

6 - Serena has successfully defended major titles on six occasions during her career: 2003 Wimbledon, 2010 Australian Open, 2010 Wimbledon, 2013 US Open, 2014 US Open, 2016 Wimbledon

5 - Against Top 5-seeds at Grand Slams Serena has a better record than any other player in the Open Era (minimum five matches), winning 26 and losing just four

4 - On two separate occasions in her career, Serena has held all four Slams simultaneously - 2014 US Open to 2015 Wimbledon, and 2002 Roland Garros to 2003 Australian Open

3 - Third time's a charm: before Saturday, the only woman in tennis history who had won the third major of a year after losing in the first two finals - as Williams has now done - was Navratilova in 1987

2 - Just two of Serena's 22 major final wins have come over left-handers (2015 Roland Garros - Lucie Safarova, 2016 Wimbledon - Kerber)

1 - Serena's only victory at a major as an unseeded player came at the 2007 Australian Open, when she had slipped to No.81 following a series of injuries.

Q. How much of a relief is this? Is seven your lucky number or 22?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It's obviously a great relief. But more than anything I think it was a really good and exciting win for me today.
Q. It was important to win, but does it make more satisfaction for you the fact that it was a great final, Kerber played very well, probably one of the best finals you played here in Wimbledon?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think it was a great final. She played really well. We had a lot of long, tough points. I think every single point I worked for, and nothing was given to me.
Yeah, it made for a really good match.
Q. Have you had a lot of sleepless nights in the past few months with everything that's been going on? Does this take a lot of tension off?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I have, yeah, definitely had some sleepless nights, if I'm just honest, with a lot of stuff. Coming so close. Feeling it, not being able to quite get there. My goal is to win always at least a slam a year. It was getting down to the pressure.

Q. Except from winning, compared to Paris and Melbourne, what have you done differently this time?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, this tournament I came in with just a different mind frame and mindset. I knew, you know, in Melbourne I thought I played well, but honestly Angelique played great, she played better. She just played really good tennis. So I knew that going into this one, I just needed to keep calm, be confident, just play the tennis that I've been playing for well over a decade.
Q. You spoke about how you were feeling calmer coming into the final. Did you feel that all the way through the final? Second set it looked like you were getting a bit stressed.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually, I felt a little more stress in the first set. After I won that first set, I got a little more calm. At one point I really, really took a deep breath. If I can just play my game, I know I have a really good chance at winning this match.
Q. Since you won here last year, you've had a pressure on you we can only imagine. Talk about the process of dealing with it, the tremendous disappointment after New York, how that's helped you to grow.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I've just felt, you know, a lot of pressure, I guess. I put a lot of that pressure on myself. Obviously had some really tough losses.
But, you know, if you look at the big picture, I was just thinking about, you know, getting to three finals, Grand Slam finals. In the past eight Grand Slams, I don't know how many finals I've been in. It's pretty impressive.
I had to start looking at positives, not focusing on that one loss per tournament which really isn't bad, and for anyone else on this tour would be completely happy about it.
Once I started focusing more on the positives, I realized that I'm pretty good. Then I started playing a little better (laughter).
Q. John McEnroe described your performance today as superhuman. Where do you rate it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. Honestly, I haven't really had time to think about it or see it. I'm still living in those emotions right now, so I'm not quite sure.
Q. Your comments after the semifinal about being not just the best female athlete, but the best athlete, also about equal pay, respecting women in sport, all went down in a storm on social media. There was a lot of love. Also a lot of people saying you inspired them. How does it make you feel to know you have inspired and are still inspiring millions of girls all over the world?
SERENA WILLIAMS: That's why I ultimately feel like I'm here. I've been given such a great opportunity, I've been given so much talent. I've been put in a position where I can inspire females, ladies, and men as well. Anyone, any kid out there that wants to be something, has dreams.
I've had great dreams. I didn't come from any money or anything, but I did have a dream and I did have hope. That's really all you need.
We shouldn't put any female athlete in a box. Why do we have to be limited to just female athletes? We all work really hard. We just want to be known as just athletes.
Q. Are you going to luxuriate at 22 or are you already focusing at 25?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, God, no. One thing I learned about last year is to enjoy the moment. I'm definitely going to enjoy this.
You know, I have the Olympics coming up. I'll take it one at a time.
Q. I saw you after you won throw up your fists. Was that in lieu of everything that's going on back home in the U.S.?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't recall throwing up my fist.
Q. After you finished your season last year, you made a statement, I've been playing with many injuries, even with a broken heart. Has the broken heart finally healed today?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I guess. Obviously, I would have liked to have won other matches. But it's okay. One at a time.
Q. Did you learn anything specific from the finals in Melbourne and Paris that helped you prepare for today and help you get off to a good start, better than in those matches?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think in Melbourne I learned a lot in terms of how to play. In Paris, it was just a lot of stress for that moment, for whatever reason.
Yeah, so I just learned to just be better. I also learned that you can't win everything, even though I try really hard. I do the best that I can. I still am not going to be perfect.
Q. You mentioned in here the other day when you were talking about your sister, you didn't really have a life. Speak about some of the sacrifices you made in life to get to where you are today as a tennis player.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think as an athlete, you have to make a lot of sacrifices. Every day, like even if I want to hang out with my friends, I have to think, Oh, I have to go to practice at 8:00 in the morning, I have to do this, I have to train. That's still every day of my life.
Those sacrifices that you put in every single day eventually pay off.
Q. As a woman, who is Serena Williams? How would you answer that question?
SERENA WILLIAMS: What question?
Q. Who is Serena Williams as a woman, not just as a tennis player?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I'm a really good friend. I'm really caring. I'm very, very emotional. I'm really giving.
Q. You're now 22 6 in major finals. What are the qualities you think you have that make you such a good closer? How were they evident today?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think the qualities is just the ability to turn up my level and turn up my game when I need to in crunch time. I think I was able to do that today.
Q. Are you aware that now we will all start talking about 24 slams of Margaret Court, nine Wimbledons of Martina Navratilova? Is that a worry?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, not for me. I've learned a lot about 22 (smiling). I learned not to get involved in those debates and conversations. I just learned to just play tennis. That's what I do best.
Q. She finally gets to a breakpoint in the second set. You step up and nail down two aces. Were you feeling it right from the start? Did you work on the serve particularly in the past day?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I feel like my serve has been really good since, I don't know, the third or fourth round. I felt like today I knew, with the conditions, it would be better if I served great because it was really windy out there.
Once I got down that breakpoint, I just knew that, you know, it was her first breakpoint, and I wasn't going to let it go on the very first one, at least. I wanted to hit an ace (laughter).
Q. When you tumbled back, was that in elation of winning the match, or shaking off the pressure of trying to get the Grand Slam after the three misses?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it was definitely both. Definitely so excited to win Wimbledon. You know, that's always a great feeling. But maybe even more so is the excitement of getting 22, you know, trying so hard to get there, finally being able to match history, which is pretty awesome.
Q. The Vinci match a long time ago, it sort of changed everything. Everybody was talking Grand Slam. She beat you. Did that shake you a little bit?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I don't think it shook me. I mean, I think if I did, I wouldn't have been able to do well in Australia or the French Open. I mean, even though I didn't win those tournaments, it was just the very next tournament I played, I was in the final, I was fighting. Then I was in the final again.
I think, if anything, I was able to show resilience that, no, that's not going to shake me, you're not going to break me, it's going to make me stronger.
Q. We are here celebrating you as champion. What's going on right now in the States is huge. I was wondering if you took the time to follow what happened in Dallas?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, absolutely. I feel anyone in my color in particular is of concern. I do have nephews that I'm thinking, Do I have to call them and tell them, Don't go outside. If you get in your car, it might be the last time I see you.
That is something that I think is of great concern because it will be devastating. They're very good kids. I don't think that the answer is to continue to shoot our young black men in the United States. It's just unfortunate. Or just black people in general.
Also obviously violence is not the answer of solving it. The shooting in Dallas was very sad. No one deserves to lose their life, doesn't matter what color they are, where they're from. We're all human. We have to learn that we have to love one another. It's going to take a lot of education and a lot of work, I think, to get to that point.
But I think, in general, the entire situation is extremely sad, especially for someone like me. It's something that is very painful to see happening.
Q. You talked at the start about finding that mindset. How easy does that get because it's Wimbledon, almost that comfort blanket of Centre Court that you love so much?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think for the first time, one of the first times, it felt good, because I knew I was serving well. I felt at home. I can't really say that often because, I don't know, I just really felt really at home with the crowd, with just being there. I just felt really comfortable.
Q. Patrick was telling us you hadn't been yourself, but now he could tell the whole tournament you were back to yourself. Is that a fair description? Did you feel you weren't yourself earlier in the year? When did it change for you?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, he's been telling me that for a while. I think sometime after the French Open, we were talking, talking about things and strategizing. He just said, You're back. I guess he was right.
Q. In your last three losses, you showed incredible dignity on the court. How important was it for you to be that kind of person? Do you think that contributes to who you are as a champion?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think it's definitely important, but it's just more or less who I've become and who I am. Definitely being genuinely happy at that moment for the people that I lost to.
I always said, and I'll say it again, for me the success of another female in particular should be the inspiration to the next.
I just felt like, if anything, these ladies inspire me to want to do better. Why would I be jealous of them? I have so many titles, so many Grand Slams, so many things that I'm proud of. I just feel honored that, you know, I'm welcoming them to this unique position with open arms.
Q. Do you remember the 22 individual detailed experiences or...
SERENA WILLIAMS: There's definitely some blurs between eight, nine and ten. I don't even know where eight, nine and ten was or when. I definitely don't remember where 12 was. I remember one and two. I remember one through four. Gets really blurry after that (laughter).
Q. The title, would you be able to place this one?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I will be able to definitely place this one. And 18. I struggled a little with 18. I can remember that one, too.
Q. There was a program about you on the television this week in this country. What prompted you to chart what has been quite a difficult year? Did you have any regrets at any stage about inviting the cameras in in quite an intimate way into your life?
SERENA WILLIAMS: That was my documentary called 'Serena'. I thought it was a great moment for people to see a little bit behind the scenes of what I go through as an individual, and probably a lot of other professional tennis players.
I thought it was a wonderful time, and ironically great timing. I couldn't have scripted it any better. Maybe I could have towards the end, but...
It was just this incredible journey of winning Grand Slams, training, everyday work, life, things that I do as well.
I thought it was a wonderful, wonderful piece. Yeah, it was great.
Q. 22 Grand Slams are great for you. Is winning Olympic gold for your country up a level? Is it the ultimate goal?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I've won gold. I love gold. Not to knock the Olympics. I mean, for me, if I kept one trophy, I would probably grab my gold medals. But right now I am probably focused a little more on the slams, or at least I was with getting to 22. Now I feel like, you know, everything else will be pretty good.

Serena Williams will enter the US Open with even more question marks after pulling out of the Western & Southern Open on Monday.

Williams, the two-time defending champion in Cincinnati, cited a right shoulder injury, the same setback that forced her to withdraw from the Rogers Cup in Montreal last month.

"I'm very disappointed I'm not able to compete in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, as I was really looking forward to defending my title," Williams said in a statement to the tournament. "My shoulder inflammation continues to be a challenge, but I am anxious to return to the court as soon as possible."

EDITOR'S PICKS

Serena's hold atop the rankings more tenuous by the day
For more than three years, Serena Williams has been the No. 1 player in the land, but that could come to an end -- and at the worst possible time.
Williams did play in the Rio Olympics last week but fell to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the third round. During that match -- one in which Williams double-faulted five times in one game late in the second set -- she was visibly bothered by her shoulder. She and sister Venus also lost in the first round of doubles.

With her withdrawal, Williams is now in danger of losing her No. 1 ranking, which she has owned for 183 consecutive weeks, second all time to Steffi Graf's record of 186.

If Rio silver medalist Angelique Kerber wins Cincinnati this week, she would unseat Williams atop the WTA Tour's rankings. Earlier this season, Kerber won the Australian Open, her first major title, and at Wimbledon, she reached the final before running into Williams.

Assuming she is healthy enough to play, Williams will next appear at the US Open, where she has a chance to pass Graf's Open era record of 23 Grand Slam titles.

Williams will be replaced in the Western & Southern draw by lucky loser Misaki Doi of Japan.