01x03 - Point of No Return

[bunniefuu]

[laughter]

[Serena]

In the span of 10 years

[coach] Come on, Serena. Push.

[Serena]

my life really changed.

[crowd cheering]

You have this fame,

and you have these Grand Slams,

and now it was just another level,

at another level.

-[crowd] Serena!

-[shouting indistinctly]

There's so much pressure,

and there's so much press.

-[reporter 1] Serena!

-[reporter 2] Serena!

[Serena] It's, like,

so much all on Serena.

[commentator]

Oh, and there goes the racket.

Snaps it in half.

[Serena] It was

a very difficult time for me

to be happy on the court.

I'm not used to crying.

[sniffles]

And I'm thinking at this point,

what is my motivation?

You know, what am I playing for?

Is there a reason

that tennis is in my life still?

So, I have five sisters.

The oldest is Yetunde.

Then there's Isha,

and then there's Lyn,

right smack in the middle.

And then there's Venus,

and then, um, there's me.

-[squeals]

-Oh!

-There she go, running again!

-Oh, she's about to kick.

Serena is absolutely

the baby of the family.

I only [laughs]

[Serena]

I have the best older sisters.

Everyone always

took care of Serena.

[Isha] Yetunde, as the oldest,

and Serena, as the youngest,

had a very special relationship.

She was very much, um

almost like a mom.

She would take us all to go

back-to-school shopping.

She took all the sisters.

Our parents didn't have

a ton of money 'cause

they were taking care

of a whole family.

She would spend

all her money on

on us picking out clothes,

which is like,

what teenager does that

with their sisters, you know?

So, she was

a very kind, kind person.

[Isha] Tennis was a family event,

and Venus and Serena

played seriously.

We all played.

And then there was a point

when it was really

going to be

kind of focused on them.

A little bit. [giggles]

It's been a family thing

all this time,

and I'm glad that they're able

to succeed at something.

No ba*ls behind her.

Right there, okay?

[Serena]

All the sisters were there.

It wasn't just myself and Venus.

Everybody played a role.

[Richard] That's great. Yeah.

Boom. Now,

high backhand right there.

That's you. That's you.

[Lyndrea] If they trained,

I was there picking up ba*ls.

All three of us,

the older sisters,

that was our role.

Like, if we liked it or not,

this is what you're going to do.

[Serena] It was a completely

family experience

that was all on the court.

And surely we all

[laughs] abhorred it

[laughs] some days, most days.

But it was all

definitely worth it.

[narrator] The Williams sisters'

meteoric rise

has not been

without controversy,

and what bothers

their critics most

is they don't seem to care

what others think of them.

[Serena] We never had agents

in the beginning.

We just had my dad,

and he would handle everything.

But my dad was someone that

always took a chance on people.

[Jill]

It was a very insulated group.

I was one of the

probably the few people on tour

that sort of, I like to think,

welcomed them.

I played on tour

when I was younger,

and then when I transitioned

out of professional tennis,

I started

in the training program at ICM

in the mailroom.

I had been an agent for

five seconds. I had no clients.

Mr. Williams, I think,

thought that I was

a little bit crazy,

and I think he appreciated

my lack of fear.

And there was a point in which

Serena took a chance

and, you know,

we've been together ever since.

[Serena] It was the beginning

of a really long,

amazing relationship.

[Jill]

When they came on the scene,

there was obviously

a lot of apprehension,

jealousy, all all the things

that you can imagine

with these two young girls,

particularly

two young Black girls.

You have taken some heat

for being so isolated

from the rest

of the people on the tour.

Do you think that criticism from

some fellow players is unfair?

Do you take

that criticism to heart?

-Does it bother you?

-No. I think that

-we like to live our lives.

-Yeah.

And we're happy

with what we're doing.

That's most important.

[interviewer] I found it interesting.

The girls, uh,

they they seem to

they trust in their family.

-Yeah.

-[interviewer] Uh, they they

there wasn't this, uh,

this thing about friends.

They actually said

they didn't really have any.

Well, they don't. [laughs]

I didn't either

as a kid coming up.

And my sisters,

we're best friends now.

But other than that

[interviewer]

This trust is very guarded.

And, in fact, there may be

no trust of outsiders.

Yeah, I think it's even better

with the situation that we're in.

[Isha] The tennis scene,

when we first entered it,

professionally,

it wasn't kind.

[interviewer] Do you think

they catch more flak

from the tennis establishment

for their behavior

because they're Black?

[woman] I think

they definitely are put

under a microscope

because they're Black.

People look at them

because they're like

look, these are different girls.

Look at them. They stand out.

[Serena] It was always

like, "Oh, she's muscular,"

or "She looks like a man"

or "She must be a man."

[commentator] Venus Williams lost

yesterday in the French Open.

That's another very debatable woman.

[commentator 2] She's not bad.

Venus Williams

and her sister Serena Holyfield.

Come on.

[laughter]

Now in the latest edition

of Time Magazine,

Hingis says being Black

only helps the sisters,

including in the arena

of sponsors.

Hingis also says

Venus and Serena

will always have advantages

because of their ability

to cry racism.

When people are purposefully

being

like, isolating you

and putting you

in a category

or putting you over there,

then it's called

you bring your team in.

And so a lot of times

it would be us walking through

the players' lounge,

and it was just all of us.

In that way,

we were our own team.

And a lot of times,

it extended even to the crowd.

You know, we'd be

the only ones clapping.

[Serena]

In a weird, negative way,

I got used to people

not cheering for me.

And that's crazy to have to

experience that, you know, um

But that's how it was back then.

We'd, um, approached it

from the standpoint

of definitely

us against the world

because that's what it

felt like at the time.

You have

this target on your back,

so that's a tough,

tough one.

-[applause]

-But we were always willing

to fight for each other.

True sisterhood,

you lift each other up.

[Jill] That's one of the things

that most drew me

to the situation,

watching how they took care

of one another.

And I thought, you know, that's

what's going to propel them,

the deep-seated family,

unbreakable bond.

[Serena] All eyes were on us

because we weren't like

anybody else.

Being in the center

of everyone's attention,

it was crazy.

A lot of things happened

in 2003.

It was an intense year.

It was after, like, an ESPY award,

and I was out,

and I had on these great heels.

I'll never forget the song

I was dancing to.

The windows to the wall ♪

[laughs]

[Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz'

"Get Low" playing]

And we were all out.

I was out with my sisters,

and we were just having fun,

you know, just dancing.

And I get and it says,

"Get low, get low,

get low, get low,"

and I was getting low. I was

like, get low, get low, get

-Crack!

-[cracking sound]

And I've never had surgery,

but I instantly knew

I needed surgery.

I'm the most fit I can be.

I'm winning every Grand Slam.

But for whatever reason,

my quad muscle

detaches from my knee,

and it floats all the way up

to my thigh.

So, I have surgery,

and the doctor

has to bring my muscle back down

and attach it to my knee.

And it would hurt so bad.

[reporter] Serena Williams'

knee surgery

is gonna keep her out

for six to eight weeks,

including the U.S. Open.

At that point,

I hadn't really taken time off.

I was playing so much, and I

listen, when I'm injured,

I'm fun.

Ole, ole, ole, ole ♪

I like to enjoy my injuries,

'cause I know soon

I'm gonna be back

on that court. [laughs]

And so I had surgery in L.A.,

and my sister would

come over, and both

'cause I have two sisters

that lived in L.A. at the time,

and they would

We spent so much time together.

[Isha] And Yetunde,

uh, was a nurse,

and so even though

she lived in Orange County,

she would travel to Los Angeles

and check on Serena

and basically be her nurse.

She loved being involved in

everything that we were doing.

We would always have Mexican

food night or lunch or whatever.

It was just all the time.

And I just remember a lot

of chimichangas being made.

I was the cook.

Tunde was the caregiver.

And we would have

these laugh-out-loud moments.

It was a time where

it was like we were all

kind of back together.

[Serena]

I was in Canada, I think,

sh**ting, like, a TV show.

I was in the bed, and then I got

this sick feeling in my stomach.

It was like, I just can't rest.

I can't rest. Something's wrong.

[indistinct radio chatter]

For whatever reason,

my gut wouldn't let me sleep,

and so I I, uh [sighs]

I called one of, like,

our second cousin,

and I was like,

"What's going on? Like, where's"

like, stuff like,

"Where's Tunde?" Like, I

Someone told me

just to ask about Tunde,

and she just started crying

and saying,

like, "I don't know

what happened,

but, like, she's been shot,

and she didn't make it."

And I'm like, you know,

when you hear that,

it's, like, impossible.

You know? Um

Ugh.

I was actually at a wedding,

and my phone was off,

so I did not get the call.

I woke up the next morning,

and not only did I unfortunately

find out that Tunde passed away,

but I also found out that Serena

was the one who had

to tell my mom.

I didn't even

have to say anything.

She just said, "My baby's dead,

right?" I said, "Yeah."

[gasps]

I finally got the full story

that of what happened was

she was out with, you know,

I think it was

her boyfriend at the time,

and someone just

sprayed the car with b*ll*ts.

Authorities in Compton, California,

have one man in custody

and are looking for as many

as four other possible suspects

in connection with the sh**ting

death of Yetunde Price,

the 31-year-old sister

of Venus and Serena Williams.

[Isha]

It just seemed so unreal.

Now it's on the news,

and it's everywhere.

And so the reality of it

is kind of sinking in.

[Serena] And I was just trying

to get a flight back to L.A.

'cause the kids were there.

[voice breaking]

She has three kids.

[crying]

[reporter] Today,

as Venus and Serena Williams

flew into Los Angeles,

police announced that they'd

arrested one local man

for the sh**ting

and was still

seeking two other suspects.

A statement

from the Williams family

said they were saddened

and devastated by the m*rder.

Quote, "She was our nucleus

and our rock.

Our grief is overwhelming."

A strange thing happens when

people that you love pass away.

You know, no one really knows

what to do

with their feelings

or what it actually means

or how their life

is gonna change.

[inhales and exhales deeply]

I think the hardest part

was telling the kids.

And I just remember,

like, we stayed

at my apartment at the time,

and we just

we just, like, played UNO.

Like, it was all we could do.

It was, like, the most mindless

thing that we could do.

We got so close in those,

like, last six months.

It was a miracle that

[sighs]

that I [sniffles]

It was a miracle that,

um that I broke my muscle.

[laughs]

And it's not funny,

but it was, like,

so amazing that

that happened because

[sniffles]

we were able to spend so much

time together and, like

[sighs] it was time

that I'll never forget.

We all were in this dark cloud.

I remember thinking to myself,

I don't know that

I don't know how

she survives this.

I think for all of us, um,

and for Serena in particular,

because of the relationship

that they shared,

it was important to

try to get to some semblance

of a new normal.

[Serena] Even through tragedy,

I think my way of coping

was just to keep working.

I just trained and trained

and trained,

and an injury that

should have been 12 months,

I made it, like, six months.

[grunting]

[racket thwacking ball]

[grunting continues]

I just wasn't really

dealing with a lot of it.

I was just trying to play tennis

throughout all of it

just trying to manage

how I felt

through a tennis ball

without really

understanding honestly

how I felt.

-[grunts]

-[beep]

[chair umpire] Fault.

[commentator] She's looking up to

her box in sort of bewilderment.

[commentator 2] One person

missing from that box,

older sister Yetunde.

They don't like to talk about it,

so I don't think

they're given enough credit

about how hard that has been

since last mid-September

when Yetunde was m*rder*d.

[Serena] Even winning felt like

you have to show up,

and you have to do your chores,

and I don't think it was joyful.

Well, she was our champion in 2003.

Once again,

she is our champion in 2005.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Serena Williams.

I think my celebrations

in the middle of my career

were very blah.

[cheers and applause]

She's very introverted, so most

of that stuff stayed inside,

and it was, like,

probably eating away at her.

She never really processed it,

never took the time to grieve,

but also just shut it out,

and it wasn't anything

that we could talk about.

Whatever you don't deal with

brings you to your knees

inevitably.

You can't outrun

pain and suffering.

You have to deal with it.

[Serena] Going into Australia, I was in

a really bad place emotionally.

I was dealing

with a lot of things,

and I wasn't dealing

with them well.

[cheers and applause]

But I remember

just being in Australia

and just playing, playing

and trying

not to think about Tunde.

But it's impossible

not to think about when

when it's always in your mind.

[commentator]

Oh, she's just misfiring

a little bit, isn't she?

And I'm thinking at this point,

what is my motivation?

You know, what am I playing for?

Is there a reason that tennis

is in my life still?

[grunts]

[cheers and applause]

It eventually

all catches up with me.

I actually retired in 2006.

I never told anybody.

I told Venus.

I was like, I mean, I didn't

make, like, an announcement,

but I just was, like,

I'm done with tennis,

and I needed to figure out,

like, kind of,

what makes me happy,

and if I wanted

to ever play tennis again.

What would that look like?

It was"I'm not ready,

you know, and I need some time."

I've been going

since I was two years old.

It was always just like,

play, play, play, play,

play, play, play.

The last thing

I needed at that point

was to have a racket in my hand.

Serena, away from the game,

expects to return

to the courts this summer,

but a lot of speculation.

I remember having a conversation

in my office at William Morris,

um, and Serena came in,

and she was struggling.

She wasn't in a place where,

based on how they were raised,

getting help

was a thing that you did.

I think I was able to say, like,

"You're not okay.

You're not gonna be okay.

You have to talk

about what's inside of you,

or it's going to k*ll you."

I did start seeing

a therapist at that time.

I hadn't seen a therapist

before, you know?

Back then, it was definitely

more taboo, but I didn't care.

Like, I knew

that I needed to get

figure out

what's going on here

-[Richard] Very good, Serena.

-whether it was in tennis,

whether it was

so much negativity.

[commentator 1] Serena Williams

is at a crossroads.

[commentator 2]

She's not gonna be number one.

Serena says

she wants to go undefeated

-this season.

-Yeah, but she won't. No!

I think she checked out

mentally a long time ago.

It was always, she's not

really focused on tennis,

all these things.

How about the closest

one of the closest people

in her life was m*rder*d,

and she can't get out of bed?

And let's applaud her

for picking herself up

and trying to figure out how

to fight her way back into life.

I think you get to a point

in your life when things are

a little bit jumbled,

and you're grieving,

and you're not really

sure about, you know,

which direction you wanna go.

Sometimes you just need

a little bit of focus.

[Serena]

I just need that fire.

And I was just looking

for any sort of match

or any sort of light

to just explode,

and I found that in Africa.

I remember UNICEF reaching out,

seeing if we wanted to help,

um, build beds

to fight against malaria.

[Isha] It was Lyndrea,

my mom, Serena, and me.

[Lyndrea] It was an eye-opening

trip for us all,

especially for Serena.

[Serena] It was an amazing trip,

and we were just helping kids.

And I see these kids,

like, writing their problems,

their math problems,

and doing their homework

in the dirt, and I'm, like,

feeling so grateful.

And one of the things

I remember clearly

is visiting the sl*ve dungeons.

That was, like, a holding area

before you got on the boat

to go to either Americas

or the islands.

They have a sign that says,

"Point of No Return,"

and it was really daunting.

[Serena] In one of the prisons

that they had for the sl*ves,

it was on the wall, like,

up to my knees.

There was,

like, this dark line,

and they were explaining

that's how high the feces were.

By that time, most of the sl*ves

were shipped to America

and then have to deal

with life in America,

being a sl*ve,

being, like, abused

and r*ped and being, like,

tortured

and working

for 20 hours a day.

Man, it was crazy,

like, seeing

[sighs] seeing what

we had to our ancestors

had to go through.

It was unthinkable,

unimaginable

that another human could

do that to any other human.

Literally,

only the strong survived.

And I couldn't get that

out of my mind.

And I felt like if

if they could do that,

I would be letting

my ancestors down

if I couldn't show up.

[Serena] I went to Hobart to get

ready for the Australian Open,

wanted to play

a pre-tournament to try to

try to get back.

She went there,

and she was, you know,

again, still struggling.

[commentator] The former

world number one has slipped

to 95th in the rankings

due to injury and a lack of tournaments.

She's using the event to prepare

for the Australian Open,

a tournament she's won twice.

I play this lady

named Sybille Bammer.

Sybille was a

a staple on the tour,

so she obviously played well.

[crowd gasps,

cheers and applause]

I feel like I fought

really hard in that match.

[cheers and applause]

I wasn't Serena of 2002 or 2003,

so I wasn't firing off

all cylinders.

[cheers and applause]

She was ranked 50s, 60s,

and these are people

that I felt like

if I wanna be a top player,

I should be able to beat easy.

It was a very discouraging

moment for me.

I just was, like,

very down after that match.

If I can't if I can't win this,

then who am

who can I beat, you know?

Like, Serena, like, why

you you said

you wanted to be out here,

but you're losing matches

that you should never lose.

It was a rough start,

and I think she was

probably questioning, you know,

what she was doing.

And I just was sulking,

but then I said,

why am I sulking?

Like, what can I do?

What can I do to be better?

So, I just got up,

and I just went for a run.

And I ran to, like, this garden.

I don't know. It was like a mile.

I don't know, 2 miles.

And then

I would go in the garden.

I just did squats

and, like, calisthenics.

Like, I just was like,

what can I do?

Like, what can I do

to just be better?

[thunderclap]

[electronic beeping]

[camera shutter clicks]

So, I was just, like,

running up the steps

and then running

down the steps

and then doing squats and doing

lunges and then going back home.

And the next morning,

I did it again.

'Cause I was like, I don't want

to drown in this sorrow.

So, I did it again. I just,

like, even further the next day,

just ran further,

and I ran harder,

and I ran faster,

and I did just so many sprints,

sprints, sprints,

just to work on my first step

and just to go, go, go, go.

That was what I did.

I just kept running,

and I just, like,

I just was so angry.

[commentator] Greetings,

live from Melbourne, Australia.

A very pleasant

summer evening here

at opening night

of the first Grand Slam of 2007.

[Serena] So, Australia

got really tricky because

my back was against the wall.

My sponsor, Nike, was like,

they're gonna pull my contract

and, you know,

go in a different direction

if I didn't do well.

[commentator 1]

Who knows what to expect?

[commentator 2] Right.

Even a couple years ago

when she was coming back

from injury, she had surgery,

you knew

she was gonna win,

get through her matches somehow.

Now she's very unpredictable.

You just don't know.

You don't know how fit she is.

I think coming

into a Grand Slam 81st

is not as much pressure on you.

People are like, not,

"Is she gonna lose?

When is she gonna lose?"

[commentator 1]

Part of the bigger context

is that this really is

an all-time low point

for American women's tennis.

With Serena ranked

down there at 81,

there are no

American women seeded.

Question is,

can Serena rebuild her ranking,

or is this

a sign of things to come?

[commentator 2] Let's hope not.

When I got to Melbourne,

I remember wearing,

like, some white tights.

And then the next day,

I was on the cover of the paper,

and it was calling me a whale.

They called her overweight.

This one Australian paper

referred to her as a cow.

I literally legit thought they

were talking about someone else,

and I was like,

oh, that's so sad.

And I realized it was me.

I was like, wait,

you gotta be kidding me.

Is this, like, a joke?

She has gotten overweight.

She is not interested.

She's much more concerned

about her design business,

her jewelry business,

about out partying,

the reality show

that she did with her sister,

so the media hadn't been

too hard on her. She's

[bleep] you.

[commentator] She's a big girl

and a beautiful girl.

We looked at her, and we

thought she was overweight.

She does look like she's taking

the comeback seriously,

but she still does

need to get in shape.

-Absolutely.

-She has a ways to go.

[Serena] They're used to seeing

women that didn't have a figure,

and I was a Black woman

with a figure,

and that doesn't make you fat

or doesn't make you a whale.

It just makes you

a girl with a butt

and a small waist.

With all that sort of

negative press,

it was heavy, right?

And she was heavy emotionally.

You know, she wasn't free

and feeling good and happy,

but it fueled her.

She's like, "I will show them."

[Lyndrea] I know Serena.

I know my youngest of five.

I knew with that mindset

she had

[clicks teeth]

it was lights out.

[cheers and applause]

[commentator] Mara Santangelo.

She kind of walks out

with a little bit

of an Italian swagger there,

and certainly she shouldn't

fear Serena Williams.

I mean, Santangelo,

after all, is the seed.

And even when Serena

was playing a little bit,

you know, better

a couple years ago, took her

-to three sets at Wimbledon.

-Yeah, I don't think

the intimidation factor

is there.

I think Santangelo goes

onto the court believing that

I remember playing Santangelo,

and I remember thinking,

I'm glad I don't have

to play the

a top seed in the first round.

I knew that, okay, I can

I can win this match.

[chair umpire]

Game, set, match, Williams.

[commentator] Ace number 10.

Strong finish to a strong

first round performance.

[cheers and applause]

My first round opponent,

I was super comfortable.

I won easily.

In the second round,

it was like you put yourself

in these

uncomfortable positions,

but you still come out

on top.

[grunts]

[crowd cheers]

[commentator] That is a nice way

to close out this match.

[chair umpire] 7-6, 6-2.

[commentator 2] She showed

that she has the intensity

that hasn't gone away,

the will to win.

And I think because

she's not match fit yet,

she needs to be on the offense

all the time,

and that is gonna be

very important

in her next match

against Petrova.

But Petrova had

a great year last year,

winning five tournaments.

She's more confident now,

and I have to favor Petrova

in that match.

[cheers and applause]

[Serena]

And then there was the blister.

Ugh. You do not wanna get

a blister in Australia

in tennis during a Grand Slam.

And I remember going

in the locker room after,

seeing a trainer,

and I remember

taking my sock off

and my ankle tape, and I'm

like, yep, it's a blister.

They were gross to look at.

It was really extreme.

All the skin underneath

is incredibly raw.

And so that

that's what I get

for not playing

for such a long time.

My feet get softer,

and it's honestly one

of the most painful things

'cause you're on your feet,

and you have to go back,

and it's on the pad. It's here.

It's right where you stand

every single day.

With a blister,

you have to drain it.

So, they take a scalpel

yes, a scalpel,

and they slice it open,

and they let that drain out.

And then you stuff it

with zinc to dry it out.

And then you come back

the next day to play.

[clock ticking]

[alarm beeping]

And it hurts like crazy.

So, I would go back to my hotel,

put my foot in a crazy hot bath,

as hot as I could stand it,

and I would let it soak.

[sighs] That was rough.

I also got sick.

Thank God I stayed

at this hotel,

um, that had, like,

a little kitchen.

So, I would put my head

over this giant pot,

and I would cover it with this

the Australian Open towel,

and I would put, like,

essential oil drop,

and then I would just

steam out, like, 'cause I was

let it steam out, like,

whatever was in me,

and I would just cough it up

and cough it up and cough it up,

trying desperately

to feel better.

[commentator 1] A very nice

dynamic in this match

between the number five seed

at this year's

Australian Open, Nadia Petrova,

and unseeded Serena Williams

of the USA.

[commentator 2]

She's got through

the first couple of rounds

pretty easily,

but today's assignment

is much tougher.

The fifth seeded Russian,

Nadia Petrova, a woman she beat

a couple of years ago

in three sets en route

to that last title, and she's

dominated head to head.

But Serena, these days,

you certainly never know.

[Serena] She was actually

a very good player.

We always had

these crazy matches.

So, it wasn't ideal for me

to have to play Petrova

in the third round.

I could just

My Australian Open

could be over.

[grunting]

[commentator] That's a great

first point from Serena.

[Serena]

I remember before going

into that third round match

against Petrova,

Venus told me to,

"Make sure you see the ball.

Make sure you watch the ball."

I was just trying to make sure

that my eyes

never left the ball.

[grunts]

[cheers and applause]

That was a tough match.

She got blown off the court,

I think, on the first set.

[commentator] Set point.

-[chair umpire] Game

-[commentator 2] And set.

[commentator 3] It's just hard

once you lose control.

You know, you haven't

played that many matches.

Now the rust factor

is rearing its head for Serena.

[Serena] And I remember just

sticking to my strategy

and sticking to thinking

what Venus said.

Just see the ball,

just keep seeing it.

And that's what I did.

I kept seeing it and kept

seeing it, and I kept losing.

And I think I was down 5-3.

[grunts]

[chair umpire]

Game for Williams.

[applause]

[commentator] And Serena's

made too many unforced errors,

and now it's Nadia Petrova

in the driver's seat here

at 5-3.

[Serena] I was doing

all the right things,

and I'm down a set in a break,

but I'm always

doing the right things.

I never for a minute thought

that I was

gonna lose that match.

'Cause I thought,

it's gonna come. It has to come.

'Cause I'm doing the right

things, and I'm playing okay.

It's gonna come.

[commentator] You can hear

the effort from Serena

in every point now.

[Serena] I knew at that moment

I was stronger,

because only the strong survive.

I remember grunting really loud

and just like, "Come on!"

really loud.

And then it came.

[racket thwacking ball]

I just need that fire.

And once I have that fire,

you see me across the sky.

[Jill] When she turned

that match around,

when she won that second set

[commentator]

Double fault on set point

gives Serena Williams

the second set.

we all sat back,

and you could sort of

you could sort of feel her

starting to come to life.

[commentator 2] All of a sudden

got her second win,

and things have

drastically changed.

-Oof.

-[commentator 1] Another one.

Another one

from Serena Williams.

She maintains

and extends the lead.

Would you believe it?

I knew that

if I could win this match,

then I could really, like

take a big step forward.

[ball bouncing]

[grunts]

Aah!

[announcer speaks indistinctly,

cheers and applause]

[commentator] Pretty remarkable.

Pretty incredible,

'cause Petrova did dominate

a good set and a half

of this match.

But never underestimate

Serena Williams,

has a great head to head

against

[Serena] After every match,

I would limp off the court

because my feet

my feet were, like,

literally in casts by then.

I was getting more blisters.

So all you could see

was basically my toenails.

And Serena Jameka Williams

pushed through all of that

and said,

"I know where I come from

and what I'm capable of."

One thing that I would do

on my off days,

I would go out,

and I would do sprints,

and I would take that off day,

and I would focus,

and I would watch film,

and I would work

on my first step.

Then I would go back,

soak my feet,

take my ice bath,

and I would go to sleep.

[alarm beeps]

I saw Serena

getting her footing.

She was getting back to herself.

After beating Petrova

in the third round,

I just felt good.

[grunts]

[chair umpire]

Match point, Williams.

[Serena] Jankovic she would

eventually become number one,

and we had a lot of battles,

and she's a very good player

at this point.

[chair umpire]

Game, set, match, Williams.

[cheers and applause]

[chair umpire

speaks indistinctly]

You started this tournament

81 in the world.

You're on the express lane.

[commentator] She looked so

scratchy coming into this thing

and with every round,

she has built on her confidence.

[commentator 1]

She's got the pole position now.

She's got the chance to drive

all the way

into Saturday's final.

[Serena]

I'm really enjoying the battle.

Every day I wake up, and I'm

like, "I can't wait to play."

I believe in my game, and more

than anything, I believe in me.

And then I knew

I could beat Shahar Pe'er.

[commentator] The pressure now

is on Serena. I think she now

believes that she should get

to the final.

[Serena]

It ended up going three sets,

and it ended up

being a really long match.

-[commentator] That's it!

-[cheers and applause]

[chair umpire

speaks indistinctly]

[cheers and applause continue]

[Jill] Every single round

she got through, it fueled her.

[commentator]

First up, it will be

Serena Williams

on this court behind me.

She's enjoyed some

of her career highlights.

But coming into this event,

she was a long shot,

34 to 1, said the oddsmakers,

to take this title.

[Serena]

Vaidisova was a young player

and had just

started playing really well.

She had a big serve.

[grunting]

-[chair umpire] Out!

-[commentator] And she hits long.

And the break back for Williams

It's 3-all.

She morphed

in those three weeks.

Finally,

I started feeling better.

My head cold was better

by the semifinals.

And before I knew it

I won that match.

[grunts]

[commentator] There it is!

[cheers and applause]

There was no way

we could rehearse this line.

[both commentators]

Serena Williams

[commentator 1]

is in the finals.

[commentator 2]

In the finals. Unbelievable.

[Serena] I went from losing

in a small tournament,

I mean, a very small tournament,

to being in the finals

of the Australian Open.

[commentator]

Serena Williams becomes just

the fourth unseeded woman in

the Open era to make the finals.

[Serena] More than anything,

I've been working so hard,

contrary to the popular belief,

you know,

so it's like all my hard work

seemed to not

be going anywhere, and now

it's finally, you know, added

It's all coming together,

so it's awesome.

[Jill] She was with Nike

at the time.

As we were getting

closer and closer to the end,

they were starting to panic,

and they wanted to get

this deal closed,

and were like, you know what?

We're now gonna roll the dice

till after the tournament.

[Serena] The narrative went from,

you know, Serena being unfit

to you can never count her out,

but they were definitely

counting me out

when the tournament

first started.

You doubt her,

you question her, look out.

She's going to prove you wrong

on the other side

every single time.

[woman] Serena's out to prove

to everybody

that she can still win

this thing.

She can still be

a major force.

[Serena]

Maria was the number one seed.

She had been playing

really well.

[commentator] They are both

about as tenacious

and competitive as you'll

ever find in women's tennis.

[Serena] She was a competitor,

and she was the girl to beat,

and she relished being great,

and she relished being

the number one seed,

and it fit her well.

It really did.

When she stepped on the court

with Maria,

it was always another level.

[commentator] You know

it's gonna be very noisy

with these two on court, could

be even a little bit feisty.

Drama never far away when

Serena Williams collides

with Maria Sharapova.

I think that Serena never really

got over that Wimbledon loss.

[crowd cheering]

I said to myself,

one thing I can promise

as God is my witness,

she's never beaten me again.

Never, ever, ever, ever,

ever, ever

ever.

I knew one thing

that I was gonna do.

I was going to attack

anything short,

and I was gonna just play light.

I was gonna play

like I knew I could play.

And I have to say, going into

the final was the first time

since the second round

that my feet didn't hurt.

[commentator]

Well, to be mentally tough,

you have to have a world

of self-confidence.

Serena has that in bundles.

And I was ready to go in there,

and I was ready to play.

I wrote this letter to myself

at the beginning

of the tournament

because I wanted to be free.

I wanted to play free.

"Your destiny has just begun.

Remember your people.

Remember your sister.

I am proud of you.

Your people are proud of you.

Tunde is proud of you.

Always, always, always

keep it up.

Play for the moment.

Play for yourself.

Play for your people.

Play for Tunde.

You are capable of anything."

[chair umpire]

Ready? Play.

[grunting]

[racket thwacks ball]

-[grunts]

-[cheers and applause]

[commentator 1] Almost hypnotic.

[commentator 2]

That's her ninth winner.

[grunting]

[cheers and applause]

[commentator 1]

With authority. 30-15.

[commentator 2] I think

Sharapova yet to hit a winner.

[commentator 1]

Here's a second set point.

[grunting]

[chair umpire] Game.

[commentator] And Serena Williams

overwhelming her opponent

in the start.

I knew that I wanted to be

very aggressive in this match.

I wanted to assert myself early,

assert who I was.

[commentator 2]

She's just outplaying Sharapova.

[grunts]

[cheers and applause]

There's a controlled aggression

in her game today.

[Serena] It was like I was

shedding weight in this match.

I was shedding negativity.

I was shedding grief.

[cheers and applause]

I was a different person.

I was a girl before,

and now I became a woman.

And I didn't look the same,

and I didn't feel the same,

but I definitely had

the same firepower

to just wanna be great

and just wanna win.

[Jill]

Something inside of her clicks,

and she refuses to lose.

[commentator] Oh, my.

[cheers and applause]

It's a passion and a fire

inside of her that's ignited

by everything

she's been through in her life,

and it comes through

in her emotions on the court.

[grunting]

[commentator] An expression of

omnipotence by Serena Williams.

Convincingly, she is the 2007

Australian Open champion.

[cheers and applause]

[Serena]

I was like, man, I did it.

Like, I can't believe it,

but I came here, and I won.

And, like,

this is what I should be doing.

This is where I belong.

[Isha] The overweight,

out of shape, African American,

beautiful woman won that

tournament, blisters and all.

I'd like to thank my mom.

I was a bad student

these fortnights.

I yelled at her, said some

things under my breath, but

[laughter]

And most of all, I would

like to dedicate this win

to my sister, who's not here.

[voice breaking]

Her name is Yetunde,

and I just love her so much.

[applause]

[Lyndrea]

I was in L.A. with the kids.

We were watching

the matches on TV.

When they heard

their mother's name,

they started crying,

and I was cr I

There was not a dry eye

in the place.

In that moment, because there

was such a struggle

that I had such

an overwhelming feeling

of relief for her,

but such a sense of pride.

And And I think I never

really knew

the fullness of her strength

as well as I did in that moment.

It had been three years

since she passed,

and I never really dealt it

with it or talked about it.

[applause]

I'll try not to get teary-eyed,

but, um, a couple days ago,

I said, if I win this,

it's gonna be for her.

So thanks, Tunde.

[cheers and applause]

[announcer] Serena Williams,

ladies and gentlemen.

2007 Australian Open champion.

[cheers and applause continue]

I think this tournament

is definitely one

of the big victories

of my career.

I gave myself permission

to be a great athlete again,

even without

the support of our sister.

This is the start of Serena 2.0.

I was back,

and in my wildest dreams

couldn't imagine that

that was just the beginning.