Reem’s Singapore diary: Never a dull moment with Serena Williams

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  • WTA No1: Serena Williams poses with her trophy.

    A Serena Williams press conference is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

    Actually, that’s not true, with a box of chocolates, I always know I’ll get something awesome. But that’s never guaranteed with Williams.

    Except this week in press, the world No1 has been consistently chatty and patient when answering our questions, and yesterday, she was exceptionally hilarious.

    Williams started the week by complimenting a journalist for using the word “trepidation” in a question and on Saturday, she was discussing a Liam Neeson movie.

    When someone asked her to grade the Singapore tournament, in its inaugural edition, she said: “My first album I ever got in my life was Mariah Carey, so the fact that they provided tickets to the Mariah Carey convert, I give it an 11.”

    On court yesterday, Williams destroyed a racquet in frustration when she was trailing Caroline Wozniacki, an act that was reminiscent of the infamous Marcos Baghdatis racquet smash at the 2012 Australian Open.

    “I don't know how many times I hit it, but boy, that racquet will never do me wrong again, I tell you,” said Williams. “It was definitely legendary.”

    After a lengthy explanation, she funnily managed to squeeze in a “I’m not proud it” just to keep her bases covered.

    As the conversation led to the stress she had to go through on Friday when she was waiting on other players’ results to know whether she had qualified to the semis or not, Williams revealed it was incredibly nerve-wracking and said she hates drama, even in film.

    “It was crazy. I don't want to do that no more. I'm going to have to ‑ if I qualify next yeah, I'm winning my matches. I don't like my fate to be in someone else's hands,” she said.

    “Halep was up 5‑1 and I thought ‘well, maybe I'll qualify. Then she lost and I called my assistant and said, ‘we might need to book a flight’.  And then next thing I know she was up in the second and then it was even. I thought ‘this is too much’. 

    “Next year I'm going to play my matches, win the three, and go from there.  That's what Caroline did. No stress for her. It's too stressful for me. That was like a drama on Netflix, and I don't like or watch dramas.

    “I do not do pressure well. What I do is fast forward to the end and I watch ‑ like I was watching this movie with Liam Neeson and he was caught in the snow. Wolf (The Grey) or something. You know that movie? It was awful. And he was in a plane crash I watched the first 20 minutes and my heart rate got going and I said ‘Okay’.

    “So I fast forwarded a little bit and still drama. So a little bit more, still drama. So I went to the end and he ended up dying. I thought ‘what?’  Imagine if I had watched the whole movie. I would've really been disappointed. I cry easy. I watch comedies and I watch, you know ‑ yeah, comedies.  Action moves. I love action moves. The Avengers, comics, but I cannot do drama.”

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