When we read that Serena Williams had been beaten in the Australian Open yesterday by Jelena Jankovic, we knew that a few things were certain to occur in Serena’s post-match interview.

(1) She would make some sort of excuse for why she lost, then talk about how she was not making excuses.
(2) She would reluctantly give the opponent slight credit for the win, then top that with a comment about how she handed the match to her opponent.
(3) At no point would she straight out admit she was beaten by a better player in that particular match.

Here’s what she had to say after losing 6-3, 6-4 to Jankovic:
“My shots just weren’t right. I didn’t move the way I traditionally want to move, and I wasn’t feeling 100 percent. But as an athlete, you know not every day you’re going to feel 100 percent, and some days you have to win feeling 30 percent.

“I’m not going to sit here and make excuses,” she added, refusing to specify what was wrong with her physically. “I lost because Jelena played better than me and I made too many errors. I think regardless, the match was on my racket, and I gave it away.”

So, let’s look back to our checklist…

(1) She wasn’t feeling 100% and could not move as well as she wanted - but she was not making excuses.
(2) She says she lost because Jelena played better, but then follows immediately with the fact that she made too many errors and “gave it away.”
(3) She only gives her opponent credit because her opponent did not give the match away.

Wondering where we got our theory about Serena’s comments after a loss? Well, we have just listened to what she has to say each time she loses. You can check here for a full story about her pathetic comments after being smoked by Justine Henin at last year’s US Open.

The highlight: “I just think she made a lot of lucky shots, and I made a lot of errors… I think that’s usually the case with me, that it’s for me to win or lose.” Actually, for this loss to Henin, Serena gave her opponent absolutely no credit - even though Henin was ranked no. 1 in the world. And you can throw in the fact that the win gave Serena a 6-6 record versus Henin. But we assume she totally “gave” her those other 6.

Meanwhile, take a look at the comments from Justin Henin following her loss to Maria Sharapova also yesterday at the Australian Open: “I knew she was in top form and I knew it was going to be tough, so I was ready to fight and give my best, but it wasn’t good enough.”

It’s just nice to see someone admit that, on that particular occasion, she was just not the better player. Nothing about how she did not feel well, or how she gave the match to her opponent or any lucky shots. Just a simple “my opponent played really well and deserved to win.” Is that too much to ask?