Small Car Favourites Uk

Wimbledon 2011: Serena Williams freewheeling again in defence of title

Serena Williams appears to be back in her groove. Giggling her way through the post-match press conference following her first straight-sets win of the tournament – against the No26 seed Maria Kirilenko – the four-times Wimbledon singles champion was in buoyant mood.

It was all in stark contrast to her anger and affront just days earlier over the issue of being made to play on Court 2. But against Kirilenko she was back in the grander surroundings of Court 1 and seemingly prepared to forget the controversy, only adding: "I think yesterday [Friday] we saw three women's matches on the show courts, which was the first time. It's always good to see three women's and three men's matches. You know, it is what it is."

There was a renewed sparkle around the No7 seed. She practically beamed when asked if she agreed with bookmakers establishing her as one of the favourites to win the title for a fifth time. "Um, I wouldn't bet against me," she said with a grin.

And she had a point. Having dropped a set in each of her first two matches, the 29-year-old swiftly dispatched Kirilenko – despite the Russian posing a few problems along the way – finally winning 6-3, 6-2.

After the traumas of last year – falling off her bike, as one journalist put it to her – had she finally found her pedals again? The metaphor turned literal as, burying her head on the table in front of her in an attempt to control her giggles, Williams revealed that she had in fact fallen off her bike last October leaving her with a permanent scar on her right shoulder.

"It was a pink Beach Cruiser," she said, descending into hysterics. "I was riding in my community [in Florida] and I wasn't obeying local traffic laws. I was going too fast. I just couldn't control the speed and I fell. It was horrible. It was actually really funny because everyone was laughing at me.

"I had this horrible scar. The ambulance just happened to be driving by. And I was so embarrassed, my community is mostly elder people living there. I was just like: 'Oh, my God.' I was so embarrassed."

The bad luck did not stop there. "Then I was driving and my car stopped. It was a brand new car. I thought: 'You've got to be kidding me.' Then Venus looked at me and she said, I'll never forget, she said I 'pissed someone off'. She said: 'I can't hang out with you.' It was so mean but yet so funny."

After so much adversity – the mystery illness that almost took her life last year – someone asked what was the single best thing that had happened to her since? The answer came swift and resolute: "Well, I'm here and I'm alive. And I don't take any moment for granted.

Road test: Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.4 TB Multiair Lusso - Autoblog UK

First seen in the Mito, the DNA lever is again fitted to the Giulietta and changes the feel of the steering and throttle. Best left in normal mode, if you want to drive smoothly, though there's no doubt that the 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol feels more alive in Dynamic mode. Thankfully the ride on the modest 16-inch alloys is pretty supple at all speeds. Our Comment Policy

We encourage lively discussion at AOL. Please be aware when you leave a comment your user name, screen name and photo may be displayed with your comment, visible to everyone on the Internet. If you think a comment is inappropriate, you may click to report it to our monitors for review.

Not an AOL or AIM member? Register for a free account.

The concise new Partridge dictionary of slang and unconventional English

Cambridge learner's dictionary

Great Britain

England

User-centered adaptive information retrieval