Serena Williams didn't take part in the spectacular Olympic Games opening ceremony and has opted for privacy over the cheek-by-jowl bonhomie of the athletes' village. But the eight-time Grand Slam champion said she treasures the doubles gold medal she won with sister Venus at the Sydney Games in 2000 more than any other trophy she has won and admitted to pre-Olympic butterflies.
She also revealed her killer instinct by saying she skipped the opening ceremony, when athletes were on their feet for several hours late into the night in humid conditions, to "preserve her body" in the quest for gold. "My whole life as an athlete, I've been working to win Grand Slams," said the American who crushed Belarus' Olga Govortsova in her singles debut here after missing the Athens Games with a knee injury.
"As a tennis player, you never work to win a gold medal. But my gold medal is the only trophy that I really want to show to people. It's my favourite thing that I have.
"I need to be here to win a gold medal, that's my goal," she said of her decision to miss the opening ceremony. "I have to preserve my body. "You know, there's a lot of people, everyone wants to win, but there's only one who can, and hopefully that can be me."
During a visit to the athletes' village, she said she had been "bombarded with lots of people and lots of photos". "It was a lot. I can't count. But it was cool, I guess. I mean, these athletes sometimes don't get to see other athletes in such an intimate way."
The 26-year-old admitted that she too liked taking photographs of "everybody" and, given the chance, would make a beeline with her camera for star US swimmer Michael Phelps, who is bidding for eight Olympic golds. But she added that she did find it strange to be approached by other elite athletes for her autograph.
"It is weird when someone from, like, Australia or all these other countries who are doing so well, they come and ask you for an autograph or a photo," Williams said. "It's like 'Okay, you're an athlete, you're doing well, too'. So, if anything, it's such a big compliment to myself, it makes me feel really cool." Williams said that there were some American tennis players staying at the village, which has been snubbed this year by men's number one Roger Federer.
"There are a few tennis players staying in the village. I know Lindsay (Davenport) is, James Blake and whatnot. But I just choose not to stay in the village because I like privacy. I don't always want people around me. "Also, I know there's a lot of basketball athletes who aren't staying in the village. There's a lot of athletes in general who are staying at hotels, not staying at the village."
Williams also admitted that there had been butterflies before she took to the court with Govortsova in her first-round match. "I was a little nervous going out there yesterday because, you know, it's the first time you played singles at the Olympics," she said.
"Obviously I wanted to win and I wanted to do well. "It's a great thing going out there playing for your country. It's cool. You get to play and see all these other athletes. You think about it, it's like, my God, it's the Olympics."
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