For nearly four years, Serena Williams has been trading groundstrokes with Father Time as she attempts to add one more Grand Slam title to her collection, reiterating her status as the greatest women’s tennis player ever seen.

Yet since her 23rd and last major title at the 2017 Australian Open, when she was pregnant with daughter Olympia, the window of opportunity has been closing.

She still hasn’t given up, even if the conversation keeps hovering around that question.

But for a change, in the press conference just before the start of the 2020 French Open, the conversation shifted towards the bond she shares with F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, who has, like Serena, played a huge role in giving voice to the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Lewis and I are super close. I have known him for years,” said Serena. “I love that guy, he is a really good friend of mine.”

Lewis Hamilton, who replaced Michael Schumacher at Mercedes in 2013, can take his 91st Grand Prix victory in Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix in Sochi – a race he has won four times previously. It will allow him to equal Schumacher’s all-time record of 91 GP wins.

“The guy is such a champion. Such a champion in his mindset. What he does in training, and physically and in his job... I really have no words for it. He is, for me, the greatest driver our generation has seen. I am confident he will break the record of Michael Schumacher, who was also a fabulous driver.”

Hamilton has been a leading advocate of the Black Lives Matter movement and a leading figure in Formula One’s anti-racism initiative this year and Serena appreciated that side of his personality as well.

“Lewis is just so intense. If you know anything, if you are a fan, you know he leads his life on his sleeve. He is very emotional, he says what he says and that is just who he is. And he doesn’t care who you are... so that is one thing I really appreciate about him.”

Watch Serena speaking about Hamilton below: