I've always considered myself the best and the top. I never considered that I was out of it.

I was talking to my mom one time, like, "Gosh, I'm 30." And she's like, "In your thirties you're even stronger than in your twenties." I didn't believe her, but I have played better in my thirties.

I am lucky that whatever fear I have inside me, my desire to win is always stronger.

I want it to be more natural. Right now it feels really forced. Seems like I've never done a curtsy before, which may be true. But I'm looking forward to nailing it.

If I'm not playing well, I do get down on myself because I am a perfectionist. [So I need] someone who believes in me more than I believe in me, someone willing to work as hard as I work. I don't understand what no means or what failure means; I only understand what yes means and try again means.

I can't become satisfied, because if I get satisfied, I'll be like, "Oh, I've won Wimbledon, I've won the U.S. Open. Now can I relax." But now people are really going to be fighting to beat me.

I meet people who say, "Girl, I watch every match, and I pray for you." I feel that energy and those prayers. Sometimes when I'm down on the court, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "They want me to win. Is there anything else I can give?" It encourages me to do better, to fight harder.