Serena Williams: I'm just playing for me

The 2014 U.S. Open is underway in New York City.

The top-ranked woman in tennis, veteran Serena Williams, takes the court Tuesday evening against fellow American Taylor Townsend, 14 years her junior.

With a season of highs and lows, Williams has very high hopes for this year's final grand slam, "CBS This Morning" co-host Norah O'Donnell reports.

"I am feeling really good," Williams told CBS News.

Williams is calm, cool and confident ahead of this year's grand slam. She won the last two U.S. Opens and hopes to take home the crown this year.

"It would be really amazing," Williams said. "It's such a tough field this year though so I don't know, but I do know it would be an unbelievable feeling for me."

A third win for the star is in no way a guaranteed win, considering she failed to reach even the quarterfinals in any grand slam this year.

Last month, shocked fans watched as Williams seemed to lose hand-eye coordination in a Wimbledon doubles match alongside her sister Venus. One of the best servers in the game double faulted four times, before voluntarily pulling out of the competition. She said later it was all due to a viral illness, but the tennis community seemed skeptical.

"No, it wasn't--I couldn't really, there was no real answer to that," Williams said. "I couldn't really find out exactly what it was, which is one thing that was a little frustrating but at the same time...I was really, really, really, really sick."

Williams said it was "no bueno" and that she never wants to feel like that again.

"I'm much better now," she said. "I've been better since then. I took a lot of time off after that and I actually didn't leave the bed after about a week and a half...but then I was able to recover after that."

A string of recent victories has proven she's squarely back in fighting shape.

Williams is excited to once again be seeded No. 1 at this year's open, deemed by some as the sport's greatest player.

"It's just working hard I think, and really also enjoying yourself," Williams said. "For me I think you have to -- whether if you're playing the world's greatest tennis player or any other sport -- I think you have to enjoy it."

As Williams prepares to defend her women's championship, the men's division seems to be very much up in the air with last year's winner Rafael Nadal pulling out due to a wrist injury.

"I haven't spoken to him but obviously I wish him really well, and he's so competitive and he's so amazing. He'll be back next year," Williams said.

As for calling the player her fellow "booty brother," she said it's "for obvious reasons. We can all figure that one out."

At age 32, a good decade older than a lot of her competitors, Williams is still having a great time playing the game. And despite having 17 grand slam titles already under her belt, she has no plans to cede the court anytime soon.

"There's nothing that I need," Williams said. "Right now it's just numbers, and everyone is just like, you know, because right now I don't need to win another Grand Slam, I don't need to win another tournament. I could go home and go to bed for as long as I want. But at the end of the day, I'm just playing for pure, just for me."

As far as retiring goes, Williams said, "I know myself that I probably will do that but it's not time yet. It's just not time."