NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 22, 2002

Serena Williams

THE MODERATOR: First question for Serena, please.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, physically I'm feeling great. I feel like a horse.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah, those are just war wounds you get.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Pardon me?

SERENA WILLIAMS: The foot faults, yeah. I just have to stop foot faulting. I tend to foot fault a lot. It shouldn't make me lose a match. Normally I don't use that many foot faults. Usually after one I stop.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, not at all. I've been known to play some pretty horrendous first matches and go ahead and win the tournament. So definitely not at all. I just think it's good to get your first match done and over with.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I was in the plane. I was in New York, and I was going home -- actually, I was going to DC. I was in the air, because I left at seven-something that day.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, she was on a different plane. She was going to Florida. I was going to a different destination.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I landed in DC and everyone was just in shock. Everybody was -- nobody was around. Everybody was watching the TVs. It was weird.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, everybody is definitely more careful now. Everybody is being more serious. The security has really increased. I think security-wise, for big events and even normal events, it's more - especially in Europe.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I really don't think there was any difference. I was just determined not to lose that game. I really don't think there was much of a difference at all.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I don't --.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It was really slick out there. It was a little slick, especially on the lines it was slick. So I just -- I didn't go to the net. I just looked and asked the umpire what she thought.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, she said, "Well, let's look." Then she came down and noticed that the lines were a bit slick. So that was about it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't think that the rain delay changed the match at all if that's what you're trying to insinuate. I definitely don't think so.

SERENA WILLIAMS: She won another game.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, wow. Well...

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, she was running down the hallway earlier today. We're going to have a long talk when I get home - long talk.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I was pretty much ready to play, too. But then again I tend to - I don't know - I seem like to have -- I don't believe in luck, so I don't want to say I have bad luck. But things tend to happen to me. If anyone was to fall, it probably would be me. If there was 50 people, I'd probably be the one to fall. I just wanted to make sure that things would be okay. It's not just for this tournament, it's the next tournament, the next one. It's not just for this one, it's also for the future. I'm looking out for my well being, but hers also.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, she went down. She was just like -- she saw that the lines were slick, so she said, "Maybe we should wait a little bit." Not necessarily go sit down, but just wait. Just wait to see if the rain -- it was kind of a light drizzle, to see if it would stop. The court wasn't all that wet, it's just that the lines were wet and I like to play on the line. I don't like to play behind the line too much.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, that's my mom's charity. We plan on trying to double than what we did last year. Last year we raised $75,000. And the charity helps children that can't get, you know, the right education in a regular school. It's actually April 7th in Delray at the Delray Tennis Center, and Venus is going to be playing an exhibition. Last year Venus played me. This year, she won, so she's going to be playing an exhibition against Alexandra Stevenson. So we're really excited about that. Hopefully it will be a great turnout.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it most definitely has. I've actually been really disappointed in myself and why people are ahead of me that necessarily, you know, might not normally be ahead of me. So that's why I've been being more focused. And, unfortunately, I had a slight hiccup in the beginning of the year. But in Scottsdale I was able to pretty much get rid of that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I guess I haven't really looked at the draw, to be honest with you. Is that when I play her? Semifinals. Okay. Well, I have to get there, first. I have one down and a few to go so we'll see.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I would -- I wanted to play, but I'm more interested in playing the singles. I mean, I don't mind playing doubles, but it's kind of hard. If I go to Fed Cup, then I immediately fly to Europe right after that. I would love to play, but, you know, we'll have to see. I mean, I can still play. I can still tell Billie that, hey, I would like to join. I would like to go to Fed Cup not just for the matches but to get a different perspective on my game. Because Billie is a great coach, a great friend, and just a great person. That's more or less why I'd like to go. But we'll see. I'm still looking, trying to get myself motivated.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. Do I?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, I don't really drive that car. If anyone wants to buy a Porsche 2000, Serena Williams, you know, it's a great car if you want to buy it. I'm selling it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't need it. My insurance for that car is just exorbitant. It's unbelievable. And I never drive it. It's just ridiculous how much insurance I have to pay for it. It's a red 2000 Carrera, tip 4,000 miles if you know anybody.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It's pretty up there. Serena Williams, you know (laughter). But I can get you on a payment plan (laughter).

SERENA WILLIAMS: Now that I'm an MTV star? I haven't done any MTV songs or anything. I don't think I'm an MTV star. That's more of a Britney Spears.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. No, we both have -- this year, we've both been really focused on getting out there and doing what we need to do. Like I said earlier, we both were really ready, but I had a small hiccup, or else we both would have been out there. So the fact that she did do that, you can see that it made her No. 1.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, for sure. For sure. I have been pretty much -- well, actually, no. I'm only playing three tournaments.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I thought it was 30-all.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Boy, you guys are really into this. Gee. Go ahead, fill me in. This is exciting.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I can't really imagine what was going through her head. She played a great match up until that point. No matter what I did, I was hitting hard, and she just -- she was just playing just pretty much immaculate. So I figured that I just became determined. That's why I'm in the position I am -- I mean, it's not a great position to me, but soon I'll be in a different position because I'm a very determined young lady, and I have this tenacious attitude.

SERENA WILLIAMS: How much fun is it being Serena Williams... Well, 20 has been the toughest year of my life. So it hasn't been a lot of fun. I get to do a lot of - you know, I don't know - I never really thought about that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, no, I'm really shy. I'm really, really shy. Like I'm not even into that, no way.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually, that's kind of, you know, I guess it happens when you're in the spotlight. But sometimes there's false rumors going -- I like to know, "Who am I with now?" No kidding. Honestly, it's kind of annoying sometimes, but I guess you just have to live with it. At least I'm not on the Enquirer every week. That would be worse. It could definitely get worse. But, yeah, it's just -- people really are nosey these days. And then they fabricate things if they can't find anything. I'm telling you...

SERENA WILLIAMS: What?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I went to the Super Bowl. Yeah.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, Zina Garrison was my mentor, I was fortunate enough to get a really good one. I guess they're all good because it's Chris Evert in the program, I believe Martina Navratilova's in the program and Tracy Austin, just to name a few. It really helps young kids who are getting on the tour and doesn't have that much experience. They want the young kids to know that -- you live through them, kind of, vicariously live through them and see what they were doing in the past. Then they can also get a way to understand that maybe if I -- it just kind of helps you go through the smooth road instead of going through a rocky road basically.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I did. Definitely. If I had a problem, I'd call -- well, I never really had problems, but I would just call Zina just to talk to her. And even I still do now, just keep up with her. It's really good. She has been through very similar things of what I've been through. It's always good to know, to have -- you can have someone to call.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, I don't know. If they call me up, yeah, sure.