Q. You and your sister have played each other a number of times in the past, but never before with the calendar Grand Slam on the line. In terms of mental preparation, did you do anything different this time compared to the last times that you played each other?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No, there's nothing that I did different. I just was out there to play a really tough opponent today.
Q. What did that embrace with Venus at the end mean to you and how do you think you'll look back on it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think I will look back on it fondly. It means a lot to me. Obviously we are very, very tough competitors on the court, but once the match is over and the second it's done, you know, we're sisters, we're roommates, and we're all that.
Q. Venus came up with some incredible level of play tonight. People kept talking about she's the older sister looking out for you, but she's gone through a lot. What does it mean for you that she's back to this level again and you were able to go out there tonight and do that?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It's really great to see her do so well. She was at an unbelievable level today. Down to the match point it just was not easy. It's probably the toughest match I have played in a really, really, really long time where I wasn't actually beating myself. I was out there facing an incredibly tough opponent.
Yeah, so it was just seeing and knowing that she has that level is so good and inspiring, as well, and hopefully it's encouraging for her, too. I think against any other player she for sure would have won.
Q. Was there a point in the match early on when you thought or you can tell Venus has her A game and this is going to be trouble?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, just in the very first game I knew she was playing well. But she played really well in her last match and she's been playing really well all tournament.
Q. She knows your game very well. How do you play against that?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Because I know her game well, so I think it actually evens out.
Q. Is there any other opponent across your career that has consistently given you as much trouble as your sister?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No. No, I mean, she's still playing, as well. I have played a lot of great players like Lindsay and Jennifer and Martina and Kim and Justine. I have had a lot of losses against those players, as well. They just didn't have, I think, what the pressure -- they didn't know my game and they just didn't beat me as many times as Venus has.
Q. One of the great players you faced very early in your career a couple of times was Steffi. Could you take a minute and just talk about her game, break down her game a bit and what made her so tough?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, she was Steffi Graf. I think that's what made her really tough. You know, when you're young and going against Steffi Graf, I mean, that, I think, pretty much sums it up.
Q. Her forehand, how does that compare with some of the other strokes you faced in your career?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, honestly it's been a really long time since I have played her, but I just do remember her having an unbelievable forehand. I think her backhand was amazing, too, because she had that really good slice.
She was very athletic and very fast. She did a lot of things really well.
Q. When you split sets and you are sitting there in changeover chair and your sister is a few feet away from you, what's the narrative going through your head going into that the final set with so much on the line? What's the talk?
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