Serena Williams has her eye on a crowning achievement

Reporting from Wimbledon, England — 

Serena Williams explains in graphic detail how it is she likes her rackets after she has gotten angry with them. In pieces, several. Unusable by anyone. Unrecognizable. She wants them fully broken and not slightly bruised.

Williams also giggles like a little girl at her first tea party. She is practicing her curtsy because the queen of England on Thursday is expected to attend a Wimbledon match for the first time since 1977 and, barring a hugely unlikely upset on Tuesday by Portuguese grunter Michelle Larcher De Brito — or the somewhat less unlikely prospect of rain scrambling the schedule — defending champion Williams will probably play in front of the queen on Centre Court.

Wimbledon begins Monday, with defending men’s champion Roger Federer playing Colombia’s Alejandro Falla in the opening Centre Court match.

But it was hard not to look ahead to Thursday.

Just imagine, Williams offering a demure curtsy and then dusting off her anger gene and giving a tennis racket a good crunching after a bad shot or missed line call with Queen Elizabeth II in the Royal Box.

The queen has endured plenty of scandals played out publicly dealing with her children, their spouses, her grandchildren and their love interests, so maybe she can understand more than most the contradiction that is Serena Williams and might even appreciate the tempestuous American champion as much as she does Federer.

Federer, with a cream-colored sweater tied just so 1920s-movie-star-rakish around his neck, was walking the grounds of the All England Club this weekend and stopping every couple of feet to pose for photos as if he were Clark Gable.

In contrast, Williams had rushed onto the grounds, messily dressed in sweats as she hustled to a practice court.

If Federer seems to calculate everything in his life — even his twin daughters were born last July, after Wimbledon and before the U.S. Open — Williams dashes to and fro, knocking off Twitter messages by the dozens to extol the virtues of her favorite band, Green Day, or to hawk some jewelry on Home Shopping Network.

There are also similarities between the two champions.

Williams got all the publicity with her threatening outburst at the U.S. Open last year when she obscenely threatened to stuff her racket down the throat of a female line judge, but Federer can thrust and jab at an umpire too, more quietly but with the same angry spirit.

And he and Williams haven’t won a tournament since the Australian Open.

But somehow the grass courts have always uplifted Williams — and her older sister Venus, who happens to be seeded No. 2 — as they have Federer.

In the last 10 years, a Williams sister has won Wimbledon eight times — five for Venus, three for Serena. Maria Sharapova won in 2004 by upsetting Serena and Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo won in 2006. Mauresmo is retired now while Sharapova, 23, is seeded 16th here and struggling to find the balance between power and health after undergoing shoulder surgery almost two years ago.

But Serena Williams spoke sweetly about Sharapova on Sunday — if the two face off here, it would be in the fourth round. The 28-year-old Williams has dealt with knee problems and so understands Sharapova’s struggles.

“Maria’s really a hard worker,” Williams said. “Her attitude on the court is definitely carried off the court, of never giving up and always fighting. It’s not easy to come back from any type of surgery. To me, she is clearly doing well.”

Then Williams was asked whether Wimbledon is special. In a way, she said.

“I approach every match the same, really, whether I’m here or at a tournament in North or South Carolina,” she said. “I just kind of look at it all the same. You do the best you can and try just to go for it. Wimbledon is cool, though. It’s a good feeling to be among so many champions. I really do enjoy the atmosphere.”

And, no, she doesn’t feel any pressure here, even as defending champion.

“If I’m here, I’m here to win Wimbledon, like the others in the draw. That’s how I look at it.”

While Serena didn’t hide the fact she attended a Green Day concert Saturday night at Wembley Stadium, there were physical benefits.

“I got some cardio in,” she said. “I was jumping around a little bit. It was amazing. Everyone knows I’m a massive Green Day fan. They were so close. No chance I could have missed it.”

And Serena sounded defensive at the suggestion that attending a rock concert would indicate a lack of interest in playing tennis.

“We’re here to work,” Serena said of herself and Venus. “We’re here to do our best and hopefully that means taking home a title or two.”

The sisters have also taken a stranglehold on the doubles title and have plans to defend that trophy.

More quietly, Federer has high hopes for setting more records here. Last year, with an epic five-set win over Andy Roddick, Federer broke Pete Sampras’ record of 14 major tennis championships. Sampras still has the Wimbledon record of seven singles titles but Federer has six.

“Being one title away from it, obviously I’m thinking about equaling Pete’s record a little bit,” Federer said. “Obviously my game’s made for grass. Since I came here as a junior and since I beat Pete here in 2001 and I won my first Wimbledon in 2003, I think every time I play I’ll have a chance to win here.”

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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