Be serene Serena: Capriati January 2, 2004 The Daily Telegraph Serena Williams has 80 million reasons to reclaim her position as the queen of women's tennis. But a player who knows a little about the effects of personal trauma on perform ance yesterday offered the youngest Williams sister a gentle word of advice in the lead-up to the first grand slam of the season at Melbourne Park. Jennifer Capriati, who endured a celebrated period of mental torture as she fou ght back from the effects of depression, drug use and a long period out of the game, said Williams could find her comeback to tennis emotionally draining when she defends her Australian Open title from January 19. "Be kind to yourself," was Capriati's heartfelt message to her fellow American. "The most important thing (for Serena) will be to be mentally and physically ma tch tough. "You can practise all you want, but there is nothing like the real thing. To ge t into the frame of mind of dominating and being confident is tough ... it isn' t going to be easy for her." Williams, 22, has signed an $US80million ($108million five-year contract to be the face and body of Nike. Under the Nike deal, she will not only wear the late st tennis fashions, she will also help design them. But the Australian Open will be her first tournament since knee surgery in Augu st and, more importantly, the shooting murder in Los Angeles of elder sister Ye tunde. They say time heals all wounds, but a gammy knee is easier to come back from th an total despair. After winning back-to-back Wimbledon titles and holding the world No.1 ranking until September, Serena has dropped to No.3 behind the brilliant Belgians, Just ine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters. Winner in five of the last six grand slam championships, Williams is due to fly into Australia on January 15. She will go into the Open without a lead-in event so she will not only have to regain form and confidence but also adjust to the energy-sapping temperatures o f an Australian summer, where the mercury often rises above 40C on court. Williams is looking only toward the future and to getting back to what she love s and does best. "I'm feeling really good riding my bike and running," she said recently. "I did not realise how much my sister (who has been sidelined with an abdominal muscle strain) and myself have been missed on tour. "It has been great to have the fans so supportive and I'm doing as good as I ca n for right now. Everything is a day at a time." The multi-million dollar Nike clothing contract could be just the incentive for Williams to reclaim her crown in women's tennis. "Serena has had a horrible year with the tragic shooting death of her elder sis ter Yetunde and her knee injury," said Australian Open chief executive Paul McN amee. "She has had a real life change in the last six months. Only Serena will know h ow the death of her sister has affected her." 哪為大哥可以幫我翻譯？ 感激不盡 --

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