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.
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The 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