AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 29, 2005

Serena Williams

THE MODERATOR: Just to remind you, when Monday's rankings come out, Serena will be ranked No. 2. She'll be the first player in history to move outside the Top 5 into No. 2 in the world after a single tournament. She's only the second Grand Slam champion ever to come from matchpoint down to win two Grand Slams. The other was Margaret Osborne duPont. First question.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I've declined? Thank you (smiling). I appreciate it. This is one way to decline.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It is a very fashionable way to decline.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I just -- I just did it. Like Nike said, "Just do it."

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, what happened, in the first point in the first game, I was down breakpoint. Lindsay had me running from side to side. At one point I reached for a backhand and I think it tweaked my back out, one of my ribs out. For the next few games I was completely out of it. I had to adjust. Then I finally decided, "Okay, why don't you call for the trainer and see if she can put it back in place." She did, and everything worked out.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I never, ever think that I have to give up, in the most dire situations.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm not sure if she put up less resistance or not. I think she was fighting herself. It's the final of a Grand Slam. So I think we both were fighting out there. I just -- I just said, "Okay, I got to just do a little bit better here."

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, at that point I just did not want to lose that particular game. I was serving so many balls my arm was hurting. I said, "I don't care if my arm falls off, I'm not going to lose this game." I just kept going for the serves and I just kept fighting. I knew that that was a very pivotal game. For some reason, I just felt it, I said, "Okay, I need to win this one."

SERENA WILLIAMS: Uhm, I'm excited to be No. 2 now. It's been a long way coming back. I'm almost to my goal, and it feels great. And this Grand Slam win, obviously, is great for me. You know, I feel good. I'm at No. 7 now. I'm like, "Yea, I feel so excited to be here."

SERENA WILLIAMS: Not yet. I haven't played enough tournaments yet, but I really feel that I'm doing the best that I can and I think it will all pay off. Eventually I'll be where I want to be.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Definitely. That makes it that much sweeter because people are always wondering about what's happening to us. It's nothing. We're working really hard and we just -- the matches we lose, it's just maybe because of a few points here, a few points there of not playing well but we're really in it. It's just, you know, we're excited to be back.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Uhm... I don't know. For you guys maybe it is. But for me, I've always considered myself the best and the top. I never considered that I was out of it - ever.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I felt that I would be able to eventually get the full range, although I was a little bit nervous, but not quite. I thought I just wanted to give a better effort out there.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I just realized that I was okay mentally. You know, my mind, everything was working. So I figured that was enough.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think -- honestly, at that point, I had gotten used to her serve finally. I started playing better. You know, I think she tried -- it's not like she gave away the points at that point. I think I went out there and I won the points and I was getting her returns back better at that point. So, uhm, that's all I can say about that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Not in the first game, until that last point. And then after that, it was hurting me like on -- mostly on some of my backhands and my serves. After that, I just fixed it. After the trainer fixed it, it was much better.

SERENA WILLIAMS: The last one I won I think was Wimbledon and that one was exciting and fun. I love winning Wimbledon. I don't know. I feel that I need to win the French because I've won two of each already except for the French. I've only won one. So I feel that, "Okay, I need to win another French Open so I can even them out."

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I mean, I think so. I guess so. I wasn't nearly as stiff, and I didn't feel a little pain when I turned. So it definitely felt a lot better.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, because I had some pain before and I just felt that, "Okay, well." I was a little disappointed but then I thought, "Okay, this isn't the end of the world. This isn't even the end of the match." I just decided I needed to pull my game together a little bit. She was really attacking some short balls, so I decided maybe I should try to hit a little deeper.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. I don't know if it was a turning point. I believe it was because I think I would have been down 3-2. But that doesn't mean I would have gave up. I would have been fighting to win the next game. I would have been fighting even harder to do everything I could to win the next game. So maybe it was a turning point. But either way, I would have still been like, "Come on, let's get the next game."

SERENA WILLIAMS: I thought that for a split second, then I told myself I couldn't have those negative thoughts and that I was still in the match. I said I'm still like I was before I got out here, you know, I'm still two sets away from, you know, winning the Australian Open. So I just looked at it that way.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Definitely. I felt a little weird. Even in my semifinal match, I realized they were really rooting for me. I was usual -- usually, before, they were really rooting for the other person usually to win, maybe because I was winning all the time. I don't know. So I don't know how that works. We'll see later on how that works, if I keep winning. 'When' I keep winning, see how that will be.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Did you guys talk with her?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm not quite sure what it was, to be honest with you. I wasn't doing it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: She did a great job, definitely. I mean, I'm working and have the trophy right here, so it's perfect.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Maybe, huh? I didn't think about that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Maybe a little bit, but it's okay. I mean, I'm happy. I don't need to feel anything right now.

SERENA WILLIAMS: She always does that. That's her way of saying -- she's really shy. That's her way of saying thank you. Plus, we have like this inside joke kind of sort of, so that's all that was.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, tonight... I don't ever celebrate. Like when I first won the US Open, I went to the movies (smiling).

SERENA WILLIAMS: The movie, "I see dead people." I remember. What was that? Sixth Sense.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. Maybe I'll go get something -- I'm not heavy on any alcohol, so that won't be a part of the agenda (laughing). But I don't know. I'm not -- like I said, I'm not big on the celebrations. Maybe I should be. I don't know why.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I think it's my hitting partner. Ever since I began hitting with him, Mark Hlawaty. I mean, it started in Perth. I hit with him in Perth. Then he came here, haven't lost since. So definitely keeping that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I was looking at the bets and I think I was the favorite going in here anyway. But it was cool 'cause even though I was like -- I had 7 by my name, I felt as if I didn't have anything to lose, I didn't feel any pressure on me. Honestly, I was really feeling my game and my shots anyway. I felt I was going to be fine. It's fun sometimes to be the underdog but I obviously prefer to be on top.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think winning any Grand Slam is satisfying.

SERENA WILLIAMS: From here I go to Paris to play the Paris Indoors. I'm excited. I really like that tournament. And I don't know. After that I go to the Middle East. I've never been there, in Dubai. I'm looking forward to that one.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Of course, Miami.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm saying yes now because it's in Florida. It's 10 minutes from where I live. I'll get practice matches and great practice, and it will be perfect. So I would love to -- I think I really am going to play Fed Cup. I look forward to it.