Serena Williams reminded the media that she should not be considered a favourite at Wimbledon after returning to the final.
The 23-time grand slam champion defeated Julia Goerges to progress to Saturday's showpiece at the All England Club, her first final since returning from a year out in which she gave birth to her first child.
And Williams feels she may not have been given enough credit for reaching this stage in just her fourth tournament back.
"It's not frustrating, but it's like, 'Come on, guys, this is pretty awesome'," she told a post-match news conference.
MORE: Serena cruises into 10th Wimbledon final |
"To hear people say, 'Oh, she's a favourite' ... the last 16 months, I've played four tournaments, and was carrying another human half that time. It's interesting.
"But when I wasn't a favourite, I was kind of upset about that. Come on, what can make me happy? I have to figure out which I prefer."
The lob
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2018
The speed
The backhand @serenawilliams stars in the @HSBC_Sport Play of the Day pic.twitter.com/jgoSAylJXf
Despite that, Williams is glad to be back performing at the top level after a measure of disappointment at her previous displays.
"To be honest, I felt I would have done better in some of the earlier tournaments," she said. "That was the hardest part, accepting that I didn't.
"I know that sounds weird, but I worked out a lot and I worked hard. It's kind of been ongoing and non-stop."