http://tinyurl.com/pydcz5a 40 LOVE Icons: Serena Williams All year on wtatennis.com we've profiled WTA legends from the past - Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, to name a few - but one of the WTA's biggest legends is still playing, dominating even, and it looks like she's going to become more and more legendary. 過去一年回顧了很多退休的傳奇人物，但其中一位傳奇目前還是現役，甚至仍在主宰， 看起來未來將繼續增添自己的傳奇性。 Though she had made it clear she would be a force to come in the future, Williams' big breakthrough came at the US Open in 1999, navigating a star-studded path - which included Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martínez, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis - for her first Grand Slam title. After winning her 17th major at the US Open this year, they played '1999' by Prince on the sound system. 雖然早就被視為一股女網未來的強大力量，但Serena的大突破在1999的美網，當時他連 續過了Clijsters、Martinez、Seles、Davenport、Hingis等一干網球明星，奪下生涯首 個大滿貫，當今年奪下美網，摘得第十七項大滿貫冠軍後，球館內也特別撥放了Prince 的名曲「1999」。 "It was amazing winning at 17," Williams said. "For whatever reason, I never thought I was going to lose that year. I just knew I was going to win it. And I remember I took my opportunity right then and there, and I made some shots and wasn't making as many errors. It was just a great feeling. 十七歲拿下冠軍真的很神奇，不知為何我當時就是覺得自己那年不會輸，我有直覺會拿 下冠軍，我搶下了很多機會，打出一些神奇的球，失誤也沒那麼多，感覺太好了。 "Being older now, it's such a great honor to win it again, because I don't know if I'll ever win another Grand Slam. Obviously I hope so. I say that every time I win one. I'm just really excited about this." 年紀較長後，能再奪得冠軍真的是一種榮幸，因為我不知道是否還有下一次機會，我當 然希望繼續，我每次拿冠軍都這麼說，我真的很期待繼續贏下去。 She was then asked how the Williams of 1999 would stack up against the Williams of 2013, soon 2014. 被問到1999的Serena將會如何對上2013的Serena。 "I've been looking at film from when I was 17. I remember I played Steffi Graf at Indian Wells and gosh, I was good! I had no idea. I was coming to the net and I was like, 'Me? I had volleys?' So I really don't know how we would do against each other. We both never give up. It would be interesting to see." 我曾看過十七歲時在Indian Wells對上Graf的影片，我很訝異當時表現那麼好，我居然 會上網，我很訝異，原來我之前會截擊？我真的不知道這兩個我會怎麼對上，兩個我都 是永不放棄的，如果能成真會很有趣。 A lot of tennis players - and athletes in general, and celebrities too - make a number of sacrifices in their childhood to achieve success in their profession, but to Williams this hasn't been a sacrifice. 很多網球選手，以及其他運動員和名人都曾在幼時犧牲很多才能在職業中得到成就，但 對於Serena而言這不是一種犧牲。 "I've always seen it as an opportunity to be here and do the best I can. Maybe I didn't hang out with people or go out as a kid, maybe I didn't experience all of that, but I wouldn't trade this experience in for anything. I was given an opportunity where I could play tennis and I could become good at it. 我總是認為能站上球場，表現出自己最好的一面是一種機會，或許我以前沒機會跟別人 出去，或許我小時候沒有體驗過所有事，但我不會把網球的經驗與任何東西交換，我很 榮幸得到打網球、甚至繼續精進的機會。 "For me, it wasn't a sacrifice." 對我而言，那些錯過的不是一種犧牲。 Another thing tennis isn't for Williams is a means to a paycheque. Having won both the US Open Series and US Open this year, she earned a $3.6 million payout - the equal-biggest payout in the history of the sport, alongside Rafael Nadal, who pulled off the same US Open Series-US Open double this summer. But the prize money was never a goal for the American - she's reaching for other stars. 網球對Serena而言也不是一個金庫，在拿下美網系列賽和美網冠軍之後，他一次入帳三 百六十萬美金，跟Nadal今年一樣，但獎金對他而言從來就不是個目標，他要的是登峰造 極。 "Never, never in my life have I picked up a cheque - I don't play tennis for the money. I honestly love to play. I love Grand Slams. When I grew up playing tennis in Compton, I just never thought about any of this. I didn't think about the press. I didn't even know all of this came with everything. My dad got me into tennis because of the money, but being naive and silly, I never thought about it myself. 我從來沒有特別在意支票，我不是為了錢而打球的，我只是很愛打球，我愛大滿貫，當 我在Compton打球時，我從未想過這些，我甚至不知道打球可以讓我得到什麼，我爸爸雖 然因為錢而帶我進入網球，但因為我的天真和傻勁，我從來沒想過這些。 "I just thought, 'I want to win. I want to do what Venus does. I want to win and I want to do more and I want to do more.' To this day I have never ever picked up a cheque in my life. I remember back in the day, before wiring, they used to mail it because I would just forget it. I didn't pick it up tonight either. 我當時只是心想「我想要贏，我想要做到Venus做到的那些事，我想要贏，我想要贏越來 越多」，坦白說到現在我都還沒拿甚麼支票，以前還沒有電子支票的時候，賽會甚至還 要寄給我，因為我甚至會忘了拿就走了。 "I'm happy about the opportunity I had because of my sister, because of Billie Jean King and so many pioneers to have an opportunity to win some money like this. But I really play for the love of tennis." 我很高興因為我姊姊、因為Billie Jean King和其他前行者的努力讓我獲得拿到這麼多 錢的機會，但我個人真的是為愛而投入網球的。 --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.128.196.66