US OPEN

September 3, 2004

Serena Williams

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I was near 50 in two sets, so I pretty much gave away over a set in unforced errors.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I just -- I don't know. I don't think it was mental. It was just missing every shot, just going for too much and not looking at the ball.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, I had an earring malfunction, so...

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, one of them died, yeah. So I decided not to just wear one, so I have to go get some more.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, but then I thought, "This is ridiculous. Just give it up."

SERENA WILLIAMS: It wasn't too tough. I always think to myself, "Okay." I kind of relax when I'm down. I usually relax. I feel so comfortable.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Craziness, maybe. I don't know. I just couldn't get the ball in. I mean, a couple matches before I was really making my shots. I just think I was hitting flat. I wasn't looking at the ball. And I just made all these errors. And they are shots that I really should have made. Most of them were shots I really should have made.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I thought for sure the ball was out. That's why I kept the straight face. I thought, "Oh, shoot." But then the ball was like -- I looked at the umpire. I was like, "Was that in?" He was like, "Yeah." I was like, "Yeah." I couldn't believe it. I just thought that I was fighting at that point. I was really playing two opponents: her and myself.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I mean, I was in the moment. I definitely didn't have any worries. I used to want to be a gymnast, so I kind of like doing the splits, yeah. Think I grew too tall, though.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think she had a really good game. She's really young. And I think she played a really good game out there. She was really consistent. I can see that she improved so much since just the last time I played her at Wimbledon. So it's good for France. You guys can put pressure on her besides Amelie for once at the French Open.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I really feel like going out and practice right now. But maybe that's not so smart. So maybe I'll wait until tomorrow, early, and just go out there.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I don't even -- I don't even think about invincibility. I've been off for eight months. It's just trying. I've had a very difficult 12 months - just my life in general. And I think, considering everything that's happened to me, just happy to be playing right now. Sometimes I'm hard on myself. I'm thinking why didn't I do this, why didn't I win this. But if you really look at my record this year, it's not really bad considering. I mean, I had extensive surgery in my leg and I had a couple setbacks. I keep having setbacks. I didn't have enough -- I would have liked to prepare more for this event. I couldn't go to the Olympics. I wasn't supposed to come here but I thought, "I can't miss this." They're very devastating, but I just keep fighting.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It is. It's so tough. I lost my patience after I couldn't go to the Olympics. I said, "I don't care." I'm just gonna fight as hard as I can to get to this event. You know, whatever it takes, I just really want to be here, competing. I don't care if I lose in the first round or if I win. I didn't want to miss this event again. But I had no patience. I was supposed to wait for like six to eight weeks.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I don't think so. And if it does, I'm at the Open. But I really want to give 200 percent here, and I think that was my main goal, is to play.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, and I want an opportunity to play it. I really was fighting to get here.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It's holding up.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It's holding up. I don't make excuses.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. He doesn't like to be talked about.

SERENA WILLIAMS: A little bit of...?

SERENA WILLIAMS: However you guys predict it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, each Grand Slam has its different experience. Obviously, this is the biggest stadium for tennis, period. You know, it's a great feeling because, I mean, for me, I've won here in my first Grand Slam. I just love that. And I love -- I don't know. I love New York. Although I love Paris. But, I mean, I love New York. And I just, you know, it's like playing in America to me. And the crowd tonight was really amazing. I've never had a crowd like that for me, so I was really, really excited.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I've never taken a moment to listen to everybody or hear because I'm so in the moment with playing the point or playing my match. I never really, ever, in my career I haven't thought about it. I probably should.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I mean, I always look at the big screen. That's how I knew I had so many unforced errors. I was like...

SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually, I did. I said, "I hope I play my next match on Court 11."

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. It's a long story. I'm tired.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, my son's in Florida. I'm really worried about him. But my little girl is here.