US OPEN

August 31, 2001

Serena Williams

MODERATOR: Questions for Serena.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm feeling pretty good now. I'm definitely almost in the form that I want to be. Was a little bit windy today. Other than that, I'm feeling really good.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I had a tough match mentally I guess in the first round, so that's good. But, no, I wouldn't want a tougher match because , obviously, I have a few tough matches ahead of me. I'd rather keep them on the down before they get a little too tough.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I've never played her before, but Venus has played her several times. I'm definitely going to ask Venus. We're going to have a lot of discussion on what I need to do. You know, I'm playing good. Really doesn't matter who you play in the end, in the end you're going to have to play everyone. You have to compete. That's what I'm here for.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I was sick, so I went home. And I can't watch Venus on TV. I get too nervous. I can only watch in person.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think right now there are plenty of rivalries out there. It's not just one. I guess if you just have one rivalry, it will be really major. I think when I'm playing Venus, that's huge, or when I'm playing Martina or Lindsay, it's really big. Even Jennifer, it's really, really big. I think the women's game right now has enough personality, enough everything, so we're getting a lot of attention. I don't think we can get more attention than maybe what we have now because there's plenty of rivalries out there.

SERENA WILLIAMS: -- and the world (smiling).

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think maybe, because -- I don't know. I don't know. I can't really comment on that. We're -- I don't know. You'll have to ask the rest of the girls if they feel like it's them against us. I'm just playing an opponent as they come.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, no, I think we definitely have a rivalry, we definitely could have one. But our rivalry stays on the tennis court. Once we shake hands and leave the court, you know, it's pretty much over with. But I think definitely -- we definitely could and do have a nice one that could really get the sparks going.

SERENA WILLIAMS: You guys are talking like I'm a major underdog here.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Am I an underdog? I like being the underdog.

SERENA WILLIAMS: She's great, doing great, had great results. I have, too. It's just the Round of 16. I'm going to take it as a match and move on.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, that's definitely a motivation because I know I can't go out there and make too many errors and make too many mistakes against her because she's playing good tennis. I know what I have to do. I have to make sure I'm ready more than anything. Most of all, it's going to be a fun match for the crowd because they get nice, good competition early on.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually, yeah. Before I went to Driftwood, I was home-schooled for a few years. I was really shy. I'm still really shy. I mean, I didn't talk to anyone. I was really introverted. I wasn't loquacious at all. I went to Driftwood. For the first year, I really didn't talk. After that, the second and third year, I really got into it, I really talked. Most of all, I remember the head teacher, Sandra McMannis (phonetic). She had a wonderful vocabulary and it really inspired me for life, so I try to use -- I'm reading a book now that's called -- I don't know the name of it, but it's a book with vocabulary words from A to Z. I get three a day.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I haven't gotten them today yet. The other day I have pejorative. What else was it? Narcissism. There was another one. Nihilism. There we go.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know anything about the story. I really can't make any comments about the story. Me, as a person, I'm education oriented and family. That's what I believe in most, is having a good relationship with God, having a good relationship with your family and having a good education. I think in sports, you can get in an accident and your career is over with. Car accidents happen every day. That's why I decided to go to school. That's why I go to school in the fall. I'm not going this fall, but that's why I went for a few years. That's just me. Everyone has a different choice. Everyone has their own heart that's separate from the rest. Everyone is doing their own thing. I can't make a decision for anyone else. I don't want to either.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It's not a dictionary. It's Word Smart. That's the name of the book. Word Smart 3rd Edition. I haven't gotten mine for today.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Destroy, yeah. Well, it depends. I try to be very nihilistic when I play.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. See, that's the thing. I'm always around Venus, my older sister. They're just really so smart. It's like I figured since I was last, the brains were left out by then (laughter).

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I haven't been able to use them. You're in a conversation. It kind of looks crazy if you're trying to use these big words. I learned a word for that, but I just lost it. It starts with a G. I could have used it (laughter). I don't know, but no. I really always have admired her vocabulary.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It doesn't matter. I used to not like night matches, but now I love night matches. I always love day matches because you can get it over, slam, bam, thank you, ma'am (laughter).

SERENA WILLIAMS: Because I always have to be so focused for the whole day. Now I like it because I get to rest for the whole day, just be very lackadaisical, not do anything.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. I have a goal here at The Open. I'm going to do everything possible to reach the goal.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I definitely am. Not only that, I realized a couple things. Thinking a lot different mentally.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Definitely thinking more positive and just knowing instead of just believing. There's a difference between knowing and believing. Now I know instead of believe.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It would definitely mean a lot. We'd get a monopoly on the US Open. We're trying to do that. That's what we're going for. We're going to do anything in our means to make it happen. If not, there's always a next year.