US OPEN

September 4, 2001

Serena Williams

MODERATOR: Questions, please.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I was pretty happy because, obviously, I'm tired of losing close matches. I really, really wanted to win this match. So, I was a bit elated.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I had a couple chances, especially in the third. I had my chances in the second, too. I shouldn't have lost my serve. But in the third, I had a chance to be up 4-Love. You know, I just blew it. You know, that's what I told myself, you know what, no matter what I do, no matter how hard I wish, I couldn't even pay a person to rewind time, so I may as well get over it. That's what I was able to do. I was able to move on after that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Maybe. I might have been able to forget. You know what, you can't do anything about it. If I were to lose, I couldn't have done anything about it, no matter how hard I tried. Maybe I could have made a few more shots. I knew I would be most disappointed had I went out.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I always have a lot of self-belief, yeah. Everyone, you know, points out the close matches that I lost. You know what, you got to let that go, you really do, or else you're just going to be in a hole forever. I'm really not trying to be in a hole forever.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I just tell myself, you know, "Stay focused, you know, make your shots." I missed a lot of shots today. I just was a bit off. I was just, you know -- you know, make your shots in that case. It depends on what I'm doing. If I'm not looking at the ball, hitting the ball, not on my contact point. I try and correct what I'm doing wrong.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually, no. Actually, it's easier for me. In the past, I've lost matches because I didn't move up to the ball or I didn't come to the net. So when a match gets tough, it's easier for me to come to the net because I know for sure I have a good chance of winning. If I'm going to go out, at least go out doing what I practice, so next time it will be better.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, Venus told me something really important the other day. She said, "You know, a champion in tight situations are able to pull through, they don't get nervous." That really helped me a lot. I don't have time to be nervous anymore. If I'm going to go ahead and do something, I was thinking about what she said. I'm like, "You know what, doesn't matter. I just shouldn't get nervous. I should just go ahead and do the best I can".

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think we were watching a match maybe. This person might have been up. I'm not going to say anything else (laughter). They weren't able to close it out, you know, after being up.

SERENA WILLIAMS: This was just the other day. It was before this match.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, I doubt it. Everybody's tall, though. Yeah, might have been.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I take the Fifth.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it has. It should never have been this long. I definitely should have been more serious in the past, won some of those quarterfinal matches. Comes a day when someone gets tired of losing in the quarterfinals all the time. I would like to move ahead, just go three steps farther than the quarterfinals (laughter).

SERENA WILLIAMS: It was ridiculous.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, no, I wasn't tired at all.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, not at all. Not at all. I could have -- I don't get tired anymore. I'm too young to get tired.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I didn't have the right techniques. I was way too far behind the baseline, and I basically pushed the shot, hoping it went over. When you hope... Sometimes you have to have a little more than hope.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. I was just talking to my dad. It was definitely, we think the difference in the match. Like I said, in the past I've lost matches because I didn't come to the net. Actually, in Wimbledon I lost because I didn't move up. Doesn't matter how sick I was, I could have won if I had of moved up. If I was going to do it, I should move up, go out moving up or coming to the net.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah.

SERENA WILLIAMS: 27 and 24, yeah.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm really working on it. You know, I'm really trying. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it ten times (laughter).

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I do. That's the funny thing. I trust my volleys. When I come in, you know, even if they pass me, it has to be on the line or something close to that. You can't -- doesn't matter if it's me or anyone, you can't keep passing. That's why Pat Rafter is able to do so well. You can't pass him that many times. It's too difficult. I need to force my legs to get up there a little more.

SERENA WILLIAMS: She just kept coming back. She didn't win three Grand Slam championships for anything, for sure. Obviously, she has a lot of fight in her. She was No. 1, too. You don't get there from just giving up. That's why you can really appreciate that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. No, I don't think so. She didn't play the French. She got to the semis of Wimbledon, lost to Venus. She just lost to me here. Those aren't really bad losses. Those really have to be able to be tough.

SERENA WILLIAMS: For sure. Her serve is looking great. I think she's doing a good, good job.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think the key, she said it right, I just have to keep down the errors, I can't make as many errors as I did today. And power, sometimes you can use your power, but sometimes you want to use more brain as opposed to brawn. You don't want to have all brawn and no brain. I'm going to go out there and try and use a little bit of both.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I haven't played her in a minute. It's been a while since I played her. She's in the semifinals. She had to win, what is it, four or five? I'm tired. It's late. You still want to ask questions, guys. She had to win several matches to get here, so... I've got to stop saying "you know." I'm working on that. I'm not going to say "you know" anymore. She got here by working hard. I can't take her for granted. You don't want to take anyone for granted.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, that was back in '99. I hate to tell you, this is a new millennium (laughter). That's old. I won't be thinking about that. That was back in the past.

SERENA WILLIAMS: That would be great. I'm sure TV would love it (smiling).

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, if it's -- huh. It depends. Sometimes you just want to get it over with, so you hit a big winner. I'm glad I have that option. A lot of people don't have that option. They don't just have one shot they can put away real quick. I couldn't -- I don't know.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. Venus has always been a great player. She's always been able to beat the top players. I just think sometimes in the Slams, you know - God, I said it again -. two weeks can be a bit tough. I think maybe more mentally, for sure.

SERENA WILLIAMS: We're different people. We have different hearts. We have different bodies. We're different players.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I've always thought we were different players. We've always been different players. Just totally different players, I think.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, she -- do I have to?

SERENA WILLIAMS: For me, especially in the beginning, I would run my opponent more than Venus was. Venus would go for more winners. But lately, it seems like we've switched roles. She runs her opponents more and I'm going for more winners. I don't know. I think I come to the net a little more than Venus for sure. I mix my game up a bit more. Whereas Venus has her own -- she's in her own little world. She just does her own thing. They're just totally different games.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes, I think I am, too. I always thought -- there used to be a time that I would practice, if it's a night match at 7:00, I would practice at around like 6:00. I would finish around 6:30 and then go on the court. Then Venus changed it up. She started practicing around -- you know, she started practicing around 4:30, 5:00. That worked for her. So I started around 4:30, 5:00. But I realized that sometimes I might need to get my feet moving a little bit more. 6:00 better suits me. I don't know if that really answers your question (laughter). But we definitely have different styles of playing.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, we've always done our own thing. We've always done our own schedule.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Whatever happened in the past is the past. This is the US Open. Like when I was playing Lindsay tonight, doesn't matter what our past record was. This is a new game, and she wants the title as well as I do. You have to go for it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, for sure. We'll just wait and see. It's going to be a fun match.