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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Tennis: Serena Williams wins easily again at Wimbledon


HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer

WIMBLEDON, England — As usual, Serena Williams is rather busy.

She is writing a treatment for a TV series.

An autobiography is in the works.

Oh, yes, and then there are tennis matches to be played. And won.

Aiming for a third Wimbledon championship and 11th Grand Slam title overall, Williams eased into the third round at Wimbledon with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over 69th-ranked Jarmila Groth of Australia on Wednesday.

"I should have won more than twice here, but I didn't," said Williams, the 2002-03 champion. "And hopefully I can rectify that this year."

She lost two finals at the All England Club, including in 2008 against older sister Venus, and is seeded second this year.

"Wimbledon and Williams are here, and we want to be here this year, next year, and years to come," she said.

There have been those who wondered whether Williams pays enough attention to tennis, given all of her outside interests. But that appears to be a criticism left in the past, considering that Williams has won two of the past three Grand Slam titles and worked her way back up the rankings.

She looked quite good against Groth, breaking serve five times and making only six unforced errors.

Yet here was Williams' postmatch assessment: "For me there's always room for improvement. I could have returned better, came to the net a little bit more. That's exciting — to think that I can do better."

Still, the match lasted all of 57 minutes, leaving the American plenty of time Wednesday for her myriad other pursuits.

An autobiography, which Williams is working on with a ghostwriter, is due out this year.

Then there's her venture into creating a television show. She's familiar with the medium after dabbling in acting: Her credits include "Law & Order."

"I'm writing my script. You'll be excited to know I wrote three parts already. I call it 'my treatment,' so I'm working on 'my treatment' now," the 27-year-old Williams said. "I was going to do it yesterday, but I started watching 'Dexter,' and I got a little sidetracked. You know what? Today's a good day. I can write."

Asked what the TV project is about, Williams said: "It's a mixture between some of my favorite shows, like 'Desperate Housewives,' and 'Sex and the City,' and, actually, 'Family Guy.' It's kind of those put together in one, if you can imagine."

Can you?

Much as Williams might have on her plate, she got a little upset this week about Wimbledon rules that prevented her from eating exactly what she had on her plate in the locker room.

She posted a complaint on her blog that, while snacking before her first-round match Monday, she was told she couldn't eat what she had. There might have been some misunderstanding, because the All England Club bars players from bringing food from outside into the locker rooms.

Here's what bothered Williams: There is food provided for players — fruit, chocolate bars — and so eating anything should be allowed.

"I don't eat in the locker room. They told me not to eat. I try to abide by the rules," Williams said. "I'm just confused as to why do you supply something you consume if there's a sign that says, 'No consuming.'"