Serena’s Secret Motivation

Serena Williams is on a mission this month in New York.No, we're not talking about her quest to win a record-breaking seventh US Open crown and match Margaret Court's all-time record claiming her 24th Grand Slam title.Social Flex: Living Suite LifeThe 2019 US Open finalist concedes a simple reason she's elevated her training game this week: She doesn't want Stefanos Tsitsipas to think she "sucked."Serena has been hitting with the sixth-ranked Tsitsipas in Flushing Meadows before the Western & Southern Open. Patrick Mouratoglou, who coaches both players, shared this clip from a recent practice.

"I really love his game a lot," Williams said of Tsitsipas. "He takes the ball super early and hits the ball really hard. I get a lot out of that he hits a little more flat than a lot of men, a lot of guys on the ATP."So for me it obviously helps me, like, I have to lift my game so much. And then it's also important for me to lift it, because I don't want him to think, oh, I never want to hit with her again. She totally sucked. "I'm, like, Okay, I need to not miss a shot ever."Photo credit: Top Seed Open]]>

Richard Pagliaro is Tennis Now Managing Editor. He is a graduate of New York University and has covered pro tennis for more than 35 years. Richard was tennis columnist for Gannett Newspapers in NY, served as Managing Editor for TennisWeek.com and worked as a writer/editor for Tennis.com. He has been TennisNow.com managing editor since 2010.