Reuters
New York, August 28: Serena Williams stated Thursday she is treating the upcoming US Open just like any other event, even though she is well aware of the historical impact the year’s final Grand Slam may have.
The three-times defending champion enters the Flushing Meadows as the odds-on favourite to win and become the first player in 27 years to complete a Grand Slam by capturing all four majors in one season.
“I don’t feel that fresh pressure,” Williams, who has already claimed the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2015, said after the draw for the US Open.
“If I make it far, maybe I’ll start to feel pressure. But as of now I really don’t feel any. I’m just here to perform and do the best I can.”
Williams said that going for her second ‘Serena Slam’ at Wimbledon, where she triumphed in July to hold all four slam titles at once, prepared her for the media onslaught at this US Open.
“At Wimbledon I was going for the second Serena Slam. That is rare. That really gave me the best practice and preparation in terms of going for the Grand Slam,” Williams said.
Williams, dominating the women’s game at the advanced age of 33, would join Maureen Connolly (1953), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988) as the only female Grand Slam winners.
A victory would be her record-setting seventh US Open singles triumph, pushing her past Chris Evert on the all-time tournament list in the Open era.
It would also tie her with Graf at 22 Grand Slam singles titles for second place on the all-time list behind Court (24).
“There’s always another record, then there’s always another person to catch up with or to pass,” said Williams, who won her first grand slam singles title at the 1999 US Open.
