"I love when she reminds them she's the GOAT" - Tennis fans react to Serena Williams' fearless answer during Wimbledon press conference

Serena Williams exuded great confidence, letting the tennis world know that she fears no one ahead of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. The 7-time Wimbledon champion's response to a question posed to her during a pre-tournament press conference drew interesting reactions from tennis fans.

When asked about her thoughts on avoiding being drawn to play World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the opening round at Wimbledon, Serena Williams shot back in style.

"And anyone could have been drawn to me," Williams said in response.

Williams' response led to many tennis fans on social media applauding her confidence, and they believe the American superstar is ready to battle it out despite playing for the first time in 12 months.

"I love when she reminds them she's the (goat emoji)," one fan wrote on Twitter.

"Imagine telling the Serena Williams that she should fear the world's number one in Women's tennis. Embarrassing," said a tweet from another account.

Williams will face French player Harmony Tan in their first-round match on Tuesday. In the build-up to Wimbledon, she played just two doubles matches at the Eastbourne International before her campaign was cut short due to an injury to her doubles partner One Jabeur. Williams is unseeded after dropping way below in the rankings, but many believe that is never an issue with the great champion.

"Serena’s shown us time and time again that ranking doesn’t matter when it’s her. The girlies all know she’s still the one to beat every time she steps on a court. That’s why they all play the match of their lives vs her," another fan wrote.

Provided she gets through her opening match against Tan, Serena Williams could face a challenging opponent in 32nd seed Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round.

2021 Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova is a potential third-round opponent for Williams, while the challenge of rising star Coco Gauff looms large in Round 4. Williams and Swiatek are in different halves of the draw and will not play each other before the final.

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"There's nobody that has done so much in tennis" - Iga Swiatek on Serena Williams

Previews: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

Despite all the talk of a potential rivalry brewing on the court between Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek, the current World No. 1 had nothing but high words of praise and admiration for the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

Speaking during a press conference before the start of Wimbledon, Swiatek expressed that she still feels overwhelmed around Williams.

"When I saw her (on Friday), I was pretty overwhelmed. I didn't know how to react perfectly. It was pretty weird. So I came back to myself (a) few years earlier, when I was too shy to say 'hi' to anybody for a second. But I feel that just seeing her around is great because she's such a legend. There's nobody that has done so much in tennis," Swiatek said.

Swiatek recently broke one of the more impressive records set by Williams. Swiatek surpassed the American's streak of 34 consecutive match wins on the WTA tour by winning the French Open final.

If she wins her opening round match at SW19 this year, it will be her 36th straight win which will see Swiatek surpass Venus Williams (35) to hold the record for most consecutive wins on the WTA tour since 2000.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams is chasing a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title. She could also become the first unseeded player to win the women's singles title.