French Open 2013: Serena Williams relishes culture clash

Serena Williams believes that coming to Europe, and especially to her favourite city Paris, is helping her to calm down and control her own natural impetuousness.

That was not always the case for the American who has been on the wrong end of some Roland Garros centre court barracking in the past as she has struggled to impose her aggressive game on the slow clay courts.

But she has come to love the city, owns and apartment in it, and is a frequent visitor to French coach Patrick Mouratoglou for advice on her game, with reports that they are also romantically attached.

What was it she found so helpful to her cause in Europe?

"Well, I always have lots of inappropriate jokes ...about Americans and about me and how we are and we want things.

"Whenever we go to a restaurant, I'm like, Where's the food? Now, now, now. And when you come to Europe, everything is slower and, like, more family based. You know.

"So it's just we have to slow down and take a deep breath. It's kind of funny how different the cultures are. Just completely opposite."

The same goes she says for her professional relationship with Mouratoglou with whom she started working last year after crashing out in the first round of the French Open to Virginie Razzano.

Since then she has gone from strength to strength, winning Wimbledon, Olympic gold, the US Open, and the WTA season-ending Championship.

This year she is on a 27-match winning streak -- the best of her career -- and won four tournaments in a row going in to Roland Garros.

"I think it's helped me a lot. He loves tennis almost too much. It's kind of crazy," she said of Mouratoglou.

"So he really knows the game really well. It's been great because sometimes he'll say things, and I'll say, I don't agree with that. He's like, Okay.

"So some things I don't agree with, but most things we do. We kind of feed off each other, and I think we both have a great knowledge of the game.

"I think it works well because of a relationship like that."

Williams made it four straight set wins a row on Sunday with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 win over Roberta Vinci of Italy and in the quarter-finals she will play Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, who defeated her at that stage en route to the title in 2009.

And afterwards she again earned warm applause from French fans for speaking in French during her on-court, post-match interview.

The one thing missing at the moment from what is otherwise a perfect Paris scenario, she said, was the absence at her side of sister Venus, who was knocked out in the first round and subsequently withdrew from their first round doubles tie with a lower back injury.

"We have a great dynamic. We're best friends and we really love each other," she said of her older sibling.

"You know, every time she's not around, I miss her. I really rely on her. Like even today after the match I wanted to talk to her about being in this position.

"No one else is in this position that I'm in, only her. So I think it's really unique that we can relate like that."