Foot Fault!

After arriving in Colombia for their long-awaited return to the courts in a singles exhibition match, the Williams sisters sat down to address over one hundred national and international journalists ahead of Thursday’s matchup.

Serena on getting back to number one.
“I definitely see myself as at least in the top five. Obviously with me being someone who wants to be the best and the greatest, that’s not good enough for me. I am currently ranked twelve, and I think is a good place to start and try to find again the world number one next year. We’ll see how it goes. It’s not like I’m starting at 100 so I have a good chance of getting there very soon. “I didn’t start until summer. I worked really hard to get some good results so that I would have a good year going and a good next year. So I think next year could be a good year for me to try to make some goals and see where I can end up.”

On their rivalry
“When we play, we can’t help but take it very seriously, because we have always tried to get the best from each other, try to play the best games we can play because we are very tough competitors. We always enjoyed playing tennis a lot, we knew we had to train hard and that was part of the work we had to do, but that hard work paid off. What motivated us was the fact that we really liked tennis. Our parents have been very important in it all. They have played an important role in our lives and without their support we would never have come to where we are right now,”

Venus on the oft-discussed WTA number one spot:
“Women’s tennis has experienced two situations. There used to be number ones for long periods, but now it changes a lot. I think this is positive because the tennis is unpredictable and next year the struggle for number one will be very entertaining. My opponent tomorrow night is definitely one of my biggest challenges. I hope maybe she doesn’t play as well as normal so I can have a win. (laughter.)”

After shockingly being diagnosed with Sjogrens Syndrome at the US Open and consequently dropping out of the remaining tournaments in 2011, all eyes will particularly be on the elder Williams as she looks to overcome her biggest hurdle yet after undoubtedly the toughest season of career. And for once, she’s setting a good tone with that weave.