Serena seeking balance in pursuit of glory

“I'm just playing until Roger stops,” said Serena Williams, bursting into laughter. “Well, here I am. We’re in it together. As long as he's here, I'm going to try to be here.”

Quite the statement from 36-year-old Williams, referring to Roger Federer’s equal longevity in the upper echelons of the game.

Born this way

Both Williams and Federer have sauntered through their opening two tests at the All England Club, proving their relentless pursuit of glory on the grandest stages shows no signs of diminishing.

“I feel it was something I was born with - I always want to continue to go forward. I don't like to be satiated with a great result,” declared the 23-time Grand Slam champion. “I want to continue and do more. For me, that's just who I am.”

The world No.181, yes you read that correctly (due to a year out with childbirth but I’m sure you knew that), was last defeated at Wimbledon by Alize Cornet in the 2014 third round.

Wimbledon titles in 2015 and 2016 followed, before absence last Championships. Straight sets triumphs over Arantxa Rus and Viktoriya Tomova so far this campaign sent the American to 16 successive victories at SW19.

“Just hope every match is better“

Some scorching shots skimmed the pristine green lawns, serves lasered down and the movement was calculated. However, the American showed a fair bit of angst and anguish went certain shots didn’t quite hit the target.

“That's what happened the first round, I wanted it so much. It was stressful,” revealed Williams, indicating her perpetual desire for perfection was overriding her game, hindering her clarity on court.

“My balance is just taking deep breaths, just calming down. I don't know how to find that balance.

“Not only do I expect to win, I expect to win emphatically. Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself, I'm overanxious. It's really just about learning that balance for me still.”

Trying to find the balance with 23 Majors in the trophy cabinet is a pretty fortunate but admirable position to be in, why the likes of Serena, Federer, sister Venus and Rafael Nadal are universally admired across the sporting sphere.

 “There's so many things that I want to improve on, but that's kind of how I always feel. I feel like I'm going in the right direction,” stated Williams following her Centre Court victory on Wednesday.  “This match was better than my first round. I just hope every match is better.”

A great example for women in the world

A plethora of shock results have obliterated the draws. 10 women’s seed fell at the first hurdle, whilst Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki joined the early departures with a second round defeat by Ekaterina Makarova.

 “It's hard. Everyone's playing hard. No one's giving you anything for free. Today I didn't get anything for free. In my first round, I didn't get anything for free,” maintained Williams, expecting a thorough test against Kristina Mladenovic in the third round.

“I feel like people are going out there and coming out and playing their hardest. They're coming out to show that, ‘I belong out here.’

“I'm actually doing the same thing. I'm going out there saying, ‘I belong here,’ as well.”

World No.62 Mladenovic, who lost their only previous meeting at the 2016 Roland-Garros, will be eager to prove her Top 10 credentials once again by inflicting a seismic shock.

“I expect a very difficult match. Even if she's on her way back, I definitely think she's a favourite of our match and overall favourite. If she plays her best, she’s for me, the best in our sport,” insisted Mladenovic, welcoming Williams’ return. “It's great to see her back even after giving birth. It's great for tennis. It's a very big privilege to play her, especially at this stage.

“It's very inspiring. I think it's amazing to see. I have a lot of respect for that, because sometimes you try to see yourself in that position, Would I be able to do that? Because we are all, you know, girls, women, and life is not just about tennis. So, yeah, it's very great to see, a great example for women in the world.”