Serena opens up about lengthy absence

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND

After all the waiting, suddenly the Williams sisters were everywhere.

Serena Williams is ready to return to the court after a year away from the game.

Alastair Grant

Venus was on court, playing her first match since January and, right in the middle of it, Serena walked into a press conference to talk to tennis writers for the first time since winning Wimbledon last year. The media didn't know which way to turn.

But, before Venus had completed her 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 victory over Andrea Petkovic of Germany in the first round of the Aegon International at Devonshire Park, Serena had held everyone's attention with her stories of the past 12 months. It was a sorry tale.

"It was tough," she said, pulling on long, untamed strands of hair dyed with purple streaks. "My first surgery (on the cut feet) was different because it was in L.A. and I kind of stayed there and hung out because you can't do much on one leg. But the second one was tough, especially mentally because I thought 'There goes Australia,' which is one of my favorite tournaments. That one was more tough than many things I have been through in my life outside of maybe my sister's passing. So it was incredibly hard for me. I think I may have been depressed at some moments. There were days when I was crying, when I didn't get out bed or just lay on the couch. And then everything just happened from there, the lung issues. It really was a disaster, to be honest."

Talking about the pulmonary embolism she suffered in March, Serena said, "They said I had several clots bilaterally in both lungs — a lot of people die from that because you don't recognize it. Me being an athlete, I just couldn't breathe. I thought I was out of shape. So I thought I needed to get on the treadmill. They said it could have gotten serious a day or two later. I could have been on my death bed. But by the grace of God, I got there in time and was able to recover."

But, despite it all, Serena seemed happy and upbeat, despite having spent 20 weeks in a cast.

"I was debating whether I'd rather be in jail for 20 weeks or a cast and I was leaning toward jail because I really hated that cast," she laughed.

What she missed most was being No. 1, but unlike Venus who says she is here to win, she is not putting any big expectations on herself.

"I'm just taking it one day at a time. I'm not preparing for Wimbledon, I'm preparing for the rest of my career. I have nothing to lose at this point. I'm just excited, more than anything, to be playing."

Serena has been helped by working alongside Venus these past few weeks. "I feel like we've been on a similar road together. Her road hasn't been as arduous as mine, but I know what she's been through, coming back from Australia, having had to retire (against Petkovic). I actually felt when you're down and someone's down with you, it kind of makes you feel a little bit better. It was like, ha ha!"

We got the big Serena smile after that one. She's always been slightly in awe of big sister but she is not beyond teasing her.

"We've really enjoyed our time just getting back together and practicing next to her and looking over and seeing her play so well. I'm like, OK, I've got to do better."

Venus Williams took care of Andrea Petkovic in her return Monday.

Alastair Grant

But she has stayed away from playing too many practice matches with Venus. "We both have our own hitting partners and, she's so good. When she hits with me, I just get really frustrated. It's like she's always killing me on the practice courts."

After leaving the media room, Serena walked out to face a battery of television cameras, set up on the grass just behind the practice courts where Sam Stosur and other players were hitting. She went down the line, plopping herself in one chair after another, answering two questions with a passable air of patience before she got to the BBC, where presenter John Inverdale asked her to do a quick stand-up about the player who had inspired her most. Serena's sense of humor got the better of her and she tried to keep a straight face, saying how Jill Smoller, her long time William Morris agent who had played the tour, had been her inspiration despite not having a very good backhand. She doubled up laughing midway through and tried it again.

Once the hilarity had passed, Serena did a serious one about how Althea Gibson, the first black player to win Wimbledon, had been her inspiration and talked about how much all black athletes owed Gibson. Then, clutching the large, mauve Burberry bag which Smoller had been holding through all the interviews, she marched off to the players' restaurant to talk to a small group of British writers.

By then Venus was on the verge of victory. All in all, it was a Williams sort of day in Eastbourne, a town that, over the past 120 years or so, has seen most great tennis champions pass its way. But nothing quite like these two.