US OPEN

August 27, 2001

Serena Williams

MODERATOR: Questions, please.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I was just way off. I made too many errors. I gave it away. And she played a good first set. She played really solid, really consistent. You've just got to give it to her for that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Don't know her. Never seen her play. I didn't know what she looked like. But I knew before I went on, someone told me that she was a lefty.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think after a while you just get used to -- I don't know. I don't know. You know, you realize you have to change the level of your game, especially if you had a bad set in the first set, or you're going to be out of the tournament basically. That's the last thing I needed right now.

SERENA WILLIAMS: How concerned am I?

SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, it just never crossed my mind that I was, you know, going to go out because I'm here to give my best, and I wasn't giving my best. I thought I was. In all reality, if I was, I wouldn't have made so many errors, I would have been more consistent with my serve. It was weird because I've been practicing really good. In practice, I just look like a billion dollars basically. I just knew if I'm going to practice well like that, it's going to eventually come in.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I'm really picky now about the food that I eat, because I have a sensitive stomach. I've had food poisoning a few times just this year alone. I'm real picky about what I eat. I make sure if I go to a restaurant, it's a classy restaurant, food's prepared different.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually, I haven't really. Benihana's. Other than that, I love Benihana's. I go there. If I could go there every day, I would. Unfortunately, there's not one that I live close by. I know there's one in Fort Lauderdale, but that's like 45, an hour away. I've eaten there twice. Other than that, I just eat at the hotel.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I just saw it today. I say this a million times, I never read articles, I just look at the pictures. It was a nice picture on the cover. I liked how my hair was a little aerodynamic. It was cool.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I really wouldn't know what to think of that really. I just heard this quote. I don't know. You'd have to ask her what she meant by that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Did she?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think in a sport that is a predominantly white sport, I think when athletes -- when people see new faces, like for instance golf with Tiger Woods, maybe if hockey were to have a superstar that was maybe Spanish or maybe black, I think then maybe it would get a few more people to watch a sport. But as for being black and getting more endorsements because I'm black, I wouldn't know anything about that. All I know is I get endorsements because I win and I work hard. I go out there and have a good attitude and I smile. I like tennis. Whether I got endorsements or not, I don't know. All I know is that that's what I can say about it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: You can go back and read all my transcripts. I personally never said in an article or interview that, "This happened to me because I'm black." I have gone to a store and been treated differently because I was black once. Other than that, no. I mean, you can go back and read all my transcripts. Maybe that was a bit on the fabrication side.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I mean, you just read my transcripts and you tell me next time. Do that for me. You guys, you writers, are getting lazy on me. You want me to tell you everything.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't read articles because it can ruin you.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Maybe I'll start reading a few more.

SERENA WILLIAMS: You know what, maybe when I retire. At the beginning, I was caught up with reading all the articles about myself. It kind of got me a little messed up in the mind. I began to expect too much of myself because I was reading what everyone else thought. I was thinking, "Wow, you know, maybe I need to think this." I just got a little bit crazy. Now I just don't read it. I'm sorry.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Dorothy Hamill?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Okay. You guys are really reading into that. You guys are reading underneath everything. I don't know. Can you repeat the quote?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think there's a lot of new attitudes out here. In the beginning, Martina Hingis, everyone just gets different attitudes. You know, it brings a lot of excitement to the sport. Why not? More people are looking at tennis. More people are realizing that tennis is actually a fun sport to play. Tennis, it's really exciting to watch, to watch ladies actually go out there and compete, watch ladies be pretty, watch ladies sweat, do a lot of different things. That's my answer to your question.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, it's not difficult for me at all right now because I'm just focused on my next round, because I really want to do well here and I really can't accept anything less. That's what I'm here for. I'm here to do well this fortnight. I don't want to have any pejorative thoughts getting in my mind. I want to think positive at all times.

SERENA WILLIAMS: What are you talking about? I've always been blonde. This is natural (smiling).

SERENA WILLIAMS: In the past, I used to like to play in the daytime. But now I like to play at night. It doesn't matter. Like today, I kind of wished that I played first match on so I could just have the rest of the day and tomorrow off.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It's the feature match. I don't know. I do well in night matches. I like to play at night now a lot. I get more chance to rest. I don't know. That's it, I guess. Get more opportunity to scout out your next opponent possibly.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I've done a lot with my serve. Used to be a time I would never double-fault. Then this year, just this year, I started double-faulting, like three, and eventually up to ten times in one match, which was never unheard of (sic) for me. I had to go back to the no double-faults.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I've taken a little bit off my first serve. I only hit like up to 113 today. As the rounds go on, I'm obviously going to, you know, crank it up a little bit. Also, I just made up my mind, it's ridiculous just to give it away. I don't like giving it away.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, it helps me know that on a second serve I'm not going to give it away, never a doubt even crosses my mind that I'm going to have to double-fault here. Used to be a time I would think, "Oh, boy, I hope I don't double-fault." So quick, so fast, oh, boy, I did (laughter).

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, that was definitely really exciting. I'm a Clinton fan. That's me.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I would. I think she would do well. She's the woman to do it for sure. I think if one can do it, it's definitely her.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes. Naturally I think Bill is a great guy. I met him a couple times. He's just really, you know, a down-to-earth kind of individual. He didn't pretend, he was just himself. I never met Hillary. I met the daughter. I like the family.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Wow, maybe we can get to play doubles one day.

SERENA WILLIAMS: They're good friends of mine. Brandi is a good friend of mine. They just happened to be in town. She was like, "I'll come to the match."