KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — On Thursday night Serena Williams battled past some stiff opposition to get past fellow American Christina McHale, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. She was forced to bring her “A”game out in her opening round, but brought far less than that to press afterward.
Reporters asked Williams a handful of routine questions, with Serena answering listlessly, looking pretty down in the dumps despite the win.
When asked if she was feeling OK, Serena responded with this:
“I feel great. I just really don’t want to be here, so if we can wrap this up it’ll be great... I just feel like I’ve just been doing press every day so it’s enough.”
The conference lasted less than four minutes.
It was pretty bizarre behavior from a world No. 1 used to winning nearly every event she enters. Press happens after every one of her matches, win or lose. While she has been on the tour for a long time, it’s a mandatory part of the job that she certainly is used to by now.
In any case, Serena’s press game was definitely an “F.”