WIMBLEDON

June 21, 2005

Angela Haynes

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and Gentlemen, Angie Haynes.

ANGELA HAYNES: Well, yes, I was excited. It's a privilege to be able to come out first time at Wimbledon and play a champion like Serena. Plus it would let me see like where my game was at, you know, things that I need to work on, like things Serena would exploit.

ANGELA HAYNES: I think I'm right around the corner, you know, just a couple points here and there and I had the match.

ANGELA HAYNES: It's all desire (laughter). I don't think it's really my game. It's really the will. You know, I love tennis. I try to improve every day. Take it one step at a time.

ANGELA HAYNES: Serena always hated to lose. She would hit with my brother. Her and my brother would play like sets or points or whatever. She did not want to lose. She doesn't care who you were. Very competitive. A very hard worker. Those are memories I have of her when she was younger.

ANGELA HAYNES: Same thing (laughter). Same thing.

ANGELA HAYNES: Yeah, she definitely turned it up. Actually, a fan told her to, you know. They're like, "Turn up the heat, Serena." Since then, she really stepped it up in that last set around, like, 4-2 or 3-2, she turned her game up.

ANGELA HAYNES: I was not paying attention to anything like that. You know, she has the experience, so on a bad day you know she could come out and beat the top players. I was just really focused on keeping her out there. I know I'm a fit player. I was just trying to keep her out there as long as possible just to test, to see if she is fit right now.

ANGELA HAYNES: Well, I was serving to bring it back at 5-All in the second set. I think that was where it turned around, you know. I felt if I could have won that game, I could have closed the match out. I was serving pretty well. But, you know, I really was just focusing on taking it one point at a time because one point changes the entire match. And I know how tough mentally Serena is, so I wasn't going to let down for anything.

ANGELA HAYNES: Again, I felt really excited, you know. If I won, it could have changed my whole life. You know, she's a champion. Man, I don't know what would have happened if I would have won that match.

ANGELA HAYNES: No, I never thought about winning, you know. That could destroy everything, you get too far ahead of yourself. I've done that a lot of times and never really came out with the win. So again, just one point at a time. I was focusing a lot on my serve. I wanted to go into her body. I knew where the serve would come back to. I knew she really didn't like the body serve, so it worked out well.

ANGELA HAYNES: I was just screaming and everything out there. But I really wanted it. I wasn't going to let anything come between that - frustration, bad calls. I just wanted the match. So that kept me together.

ANGELA HAYNES: We talk. We talk. I only get to see her at tournaments really. She's in Florida. She does have a house in California, but I really don't get to see her. She's a sweet girl. I have a lot of respect for her. She's very nice. Also Venus. So, you know, whenever we have the chance to talk, we do.

ANGELA HAYNES: She just congratulated me on how well I was playing. She gives me advice - well, not today of course. She just told me, "Good match. Better luck."

ANGELA HAYNES: No.

ANGELA HAYNES: Yes. My brother used to go to UC Irvine.

ANGELA HAYNES: No, I've never been here. This is amazing, just coming from where I'm staying, seeing like 10 miles of people waiting to get into the stadium. It's nothing like I've ever seen.

ANGELA HAYNES: It is. The fans today helped me out a lot. I got a lot of them on my side today, and that really, really helped me. It really did.

ANGELA HAYNES: They were. They were. I guess, I don't know, I heard they like the underdogs here. I guess that's what got them on.

ANGELA HAYNES: Yes.

ANGELA HAYNES: I've always known them to be very hard workers, very competitive. They win at all cost. So that helped me a lot. You know, if you work hard and you're persistent at something, then eventually you get the outcome that you want. So just watching them play their matches, that was good for me to work on that fight, that will to always win no matter what. If it's a game of checkers or hopscotch or something like that, just want to win at whatever you do.

ANGELA HAYNES: Yes, I was three years old. I have an older brother and an older sister. My dad also trained them. I used to go to the courts with them. I used to beg my dad, "Can I play?" I would pick up a racquet, swing balls. Eventually he went to Toys-R-Us, got me a racquet, took me out for like an hour or 30 minutes every day. But my dad's all about technique. He likes things to look right. Sometimes in tight matches, people start to get nervous and then they just look really sloppy. So my dad's into, no matter what, stay structured, keep your technique correct.

ANGELA HAYNES: Oh, yeah, yeah. Even if he lost, I wouldn't say that. He won. He always beat her - I think.

ANGELA HAYNES: Oh, she hated that. You know, she wouldn't talk to him, wouldn't shake his hand. But the next day they were at it again.

ANGELA HAYNES: His name is D-o-n-t-i-a. He gets mad when people spell it wrong. He's 23 years old. Right now he's at San Diego State for scholarship for tennis.

ANGELA HAYNES: I was around four. He was six or seven.