The 2005 Australian Open saw Serena Williams return to the tournament after missing the previous edition due to injury.
In 2004, she was the defending champion, and had to miss out on the tournament due to a knee problem. In her absence, Justine Henin won the tournament, taking down compatriot Kim Clijsters in the final.
When Serena Williams made brutally honest admission about her poor display at Australian Open (Source: Getty)
Williams started right where she left off, winning her first three matches in straight sets. In the fourth round, she took on Russian Nadia Petrova, seeded No. 11 in Melbourne.
The American won the first set, but lost the second and looked almost like she was going to be on the receiving end of a major upset.
Thankfully, the 23-time Grand Slam champion quickly regrouped, and won the decider to move into the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win.
Speaking at her press conference later, Serena Williams made a brutally honest admission about her level of play on the day, stating that she served horribly and did not even deserve to win.
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Regardless, the former World No. 1 was glad to ‘get it over with’ and focus on her next match in the final-8.
“I mean, my serve was horrible. I’ve been working really hard on it. It’s just, you know, I’m a perfectionist, and I played a really bad game today. I, you know, to be honest, didn’t deserve to win the way I played. But I guess I have to get over it and play better in the next round,” Serena Williams said.
“I don’t really see too many positives out of the match today except I think I ran well for it on some dropshots. That’s about it,” she added.
In the quarterfinals, Williams ran into former French Open champion, Amelie Mauresmo.
“It’s really fun tennis” – What Serena Williams said about facing Amelie Mauresmo in Australian Open quarterfinals
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At the press conference, Serena Williams spoke about her impending battle against Amelie Mauresmo, saying that she looked forward to the match as she enjoyed playing ‘really fun’ tennis against the Frenchwoman.
“I expect her to play very good and better. You know, I expect her to come out and perform extremely well, like she normally does. But, you know, I really like playing her. I mean, it’s really fun tennis. We have a good time out there,” Serena Williams said.
As it turned out, it really was fun for Williams, as she beat Mauresmo 6-2, 6-2 to reach the semifinals. There, she took down Maria Sharapova, this time in a very close three-setter that ended 8-6 in the final set to go through to the final. In the summit clash, she bested top seed Lindsay Davenport, winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 to lift her second Australian Open trophy.
