Serena already focused on mother of all comebacks

LOS ANGELES - Serena Williams, feeling "new power" from her pregnancy, is already preparing for an Australian Open title defense in January.

In a wide-ranging interview with Vogue touching on motherhood, body image and race, Williams said she had set herself a goal of playing the Melbourne major.

"It's the most outrageous plan," said the 36-year-old Williams, who is expecting her first child next month.

"I just want to put that out there. That's, like, three months after I give birth. I'm not walking anything back, but I'm just saying it's pretty intense."

Williams said during her pregnancy layoff she had kept a close eye on the tennis world, including her sister Venus' run to the Wimbledon final.

And she has her eye on matching Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles. She was already pregnant when she won her 23rd at the Australian Open last January.

"Obviously, if I have a chance to go out there and catch up with Margaret, I am not going to pass that up," Williams said. "If anything, this pregnancy has given me a new power."

Williams says she's had a "love-hate relationship with the idea of power" as it relates to her game, sometimes irked that her skill and strategy seemed to be overlooked.

"As I've gotten older I've started to feel differently about it. Power is beauty. Strength is beauty. So now on the court I want people to think that I'm powerful," she said.

But she's dismayed to think that many interpret her on-court determination as "mean" - something she believes has to do with race.

"I feel like people think I'm mean," she says. "Really tough and really mean and really 'street'. I believe that the other girls in the locker room will say, 'Serena's really nice.' But Maria Sharapova, who might not talk to anybody, might be perceived by the public as nicer.

"Why is that? Because I'm black, so I look mean? That's the society we live in. That's life. They say African-Americans have to be twice as good, especially women. I'm perfectly OK with having to be twice as good."

Aunt Venus

Meanwhile, Wimbledon and Australian Open runner-up Venus is preparing this week for the US Open and to become a new aunt.

On Tuesday, ninth-ranked Venus advanced to the second round at the WTA Cincinnati Open by eliminating US compatriot Alison Riske 6-2, 6-0 in 66 minutes.

Off the court, Venus is doing some online shopping for Serena's baby, and getting some valuable advice from her mother, Oracene Price, who has raised five daughters.

"I have a lot of things in my cart that I'm about to order," Venus said. "I talked to my mom yesterday. I'm like, 'Mom, what do you really, really need?' So she really gave me the lowdown.

"So I'm going to get this stuff and as things progress I'll see what I need after."

Serena and her fiancee, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, have said they plan to keep the sex of the baby a surprise until birth.

Venus, who won five Wimbledon and two US Open titles, has been an aunt before, but not when she was old enough to do some serious spoiling and spending on the new arrival.

"This is the first time I've been an aunt as an adult," she said.

"So it's a completely different experience than when I was a child."

Agence France-presse