Serena Williams seeks 12th major title at US Open

In one breath, Serena Williams says she considers herself the favourite at the US Open.

In one breath, Serena Williams says she considers herself the favourite at the US Open.

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In the next, she says she doesn't want to be touted as the woman to beat at the year's last Grand Slam, which begins on Monday.

At one point, Williams says she has no target number for major titles. At another point, she says she really was hoping to surpass Monica Seles' nine major singles championships - and now that Williams has 11, she wants to catch Billie Jean King's career count of 12.

"I used to never look at numbers. But the more I get, the more numbers I look at," Williams said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I want to get back to where I don't look at numbers."

Perhaps Williams is simply saying the first thing that comes to mind. Perhaps she's really not sure how she feels. Or perhaps she's working on her acting skills during interviews and news conferences.

This much is clear: There have been two very different tennis players who have shown up under the name "Serena Williams" in the past 12 months.