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US OPEN

August 29, 2000

Serena Williams

Flushing Meadows, New York

MODERATOR: First question for Serena.

Q. Nice dress.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Thanks. It was definitely sporty, new, very flowy, different.

Q. Did you have a hand in the design?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I had a little say on what to do. They gave me something, I tell them where to make a change, where to change this, cut it here, add a dart there, things like that.

Q. What material is it?

SERENA WILLIAMS: It's mesh. It's a very light material. It's no-wash. All you have to do is rinse it, let it dry. It dries really quick.

Q. Have you thought about designing dresses for the dolls?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I actually have not.

Q. Do you think it makes a statement?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely think it does. It shows how well in -- how good I look (laughter), how well in shape I am. It's just really flattering, I think.

Q. You had FAO Schwartz on Sunday, ringing the opening bell. Does it feel good to be back here in New York?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm feeling great to be back in New York. I love it here. This is one of my favorite Slams. I guess it is my favorite Slam.

Q. How anxious were you at the start of that match?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I was really pushing - not pushing, but really going for it, too much maybe. I wasn't playing the way I was in LA and Toronto or Montreal, Canada, wherever.

Q. When you were in the locker room before the match, were you nervous?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, not at all. I don't get nervous anymore. Actually, when I was on the court, I think I was feeling a little -- not the usual Serena. It showed a little bit because it should have been a little quicker. You know, it was 59 minutes. I'm used to 40 and 30s now (smiling).

Q. Lisa just left the room and gave quite a long press conference, clearly very sad and frustrated about the situation. Of course, your dad said that he felt she should have gone. Can you comment about the situation? Do you think she has a point? She was the No. 1 doubles player.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes, she is the No. 1 doubles player. It's just disappointing that all of us wouldn't be able to go to the Olympics. Obviously, she's a great doubles player. Not everyone can win. You win some, you lose some. Apparently, this is a bad one to lose. According to the criteria, it says the top four players. The way the arbitrator understood it, it was the top four singles players. I just so happened to be a good doubles player also. Venus and I just so happen to make a great team. Really, it's unfortunate that she's not able to be there. She's a really nice girl. She made it clear that she wasn't bringing the case against me; she just thought she should be able to go. It's completely understandable.

Q. Does this tarnish the enthusiasm that you might have had of going to the Olympics at all?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Not really. Going to the Olympics is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You never know what's going to happen in the next four years. I just want to take my chance and win a Gold Medal.

Q. Have you made any attempt to talk to Lisa about it?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Not really. I don't want to kind of run into her, like talk to her about it. Obviously, she's probably still not feeling great about it. It was a tough one to lose.

Q. If the shoe were on the other foot, you weren't going, how would you feel about it if you were Lisa right now, being left off the team?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I really couldn't say because I'm not --.

Q. Do you think the celebrity, the Serena Williams name, aced her out? Her name is not the household name that yours is.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't think so. I don't think so at all.

Q. Lisa called it the "Dream Team". She thought Billie Jean now has the Dream Team. Do you see it in those terms?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I guess in a way we have some good singles players. It is a Dream Team: Venus, Lindsay, Monica, myself. It was just the way we're ranked. Lindsay is the first American, Venus is the second, I'm the third, Monica is the fourth.

Q. With the Olympics looming so shortly after the US Open, is it at all a distraction? Is it a real effort to try to focus on this tournament right here and now?

SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, I just -- I do not think too far ahead. I just focus on the now. Obviously I plan ahead, but I just think about what I'm going to do. Right now I'm in New York, right now I'm at the US Open, so right now I'm focused for the US Open. When I get to the Olympics, I'm going to focus for the Olympics. Right now I'm really focused on winning this title again, doing the best I can.

Q. When will you fly down?

SERENA WILLIAMS: The team has to meet in California on the 12th, the Tuesday after The Open.

Q. Have you seen the statue of Arthur Ashe? If so, what are your thoughts on it?

SERENA WILLIAMS: The statue?

Q. Of Arthur Ashe that was unveiled yesterday.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I haven't seen it.

Q. You should take a look.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I didn't know about it.

Q. Lindsay said that she likes going into tournaments where there's not a lot of attention on her, kind of helps her play her game. Do you like to go to tournaments where there is a lot of focus, the dolls, the new outfit?

SERENA WILLIAMS: It seems wherever I go there's a lot of attention on me anyway. It's like I'm used to it. It really doesn't change with the new outfit, dolls, Stock Exchange bell, I'm kind of used to a lot of attention.

Q. Do you like it? Do you feed off of it at all?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I like it. To me, I've worked for it. It doesn't matter one way or the other. It's something that if you do well, if you're special at whatever you do, you're going to get a lot of attention.

Q. How close are you to signing the beverage contract, or have you signed it?

SERENA WILLIAMS: A beverage contract?

Q. The Atlanta company.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know anything about this.

Q. John McEnroe was quoted in this week's edition of New Yorker Magazine, "Any good male college player could beat the Williams sisters, as could any man on the Senior Tour." I interviewed him earlier today. He reiterated that position. He said he'd welcome a match with you.

SERENA WILLIAMS: You want a piece of me (smiling)?

Q. What is your comment on that?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Who knows. Obviously, men are stronger than women. He can throw down if he wants. I don't know. Who knows? It's interesting. It would be interesting to see where we stand on that. Who knows? I think men are stronger than women, in general, just hands down. It would be tough to say. When I play people that's much better than me, I play a lot better. You should see me. You would think, "Wow, why doesn't she do this normally?"

Q. There's some heavyweight chain-smoking guys on the tour. I think you might be able to give them a run for their money.

SERENA WILLIAMS: If I can keep them out there, running, sweating, running side-to-side, who knows what will happen.

Q. Going back to the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee have just announced they'll test for EPO, which is the blood and oxygen levels. They will carry out blood tests at the Olympics.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I hate needles.

Q. How do you feel about that, bearing in mind your religious beliefs?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, this is terrible (laughter). I'm not doing anything. It's a shame that they have to do this because people really try to get a different advantage. That's really a shame. It's a shame they have to take blood tests, because I don't really like needles.

Q. If you were asked to give one, would you do it, and Venus as well?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, sure. I'm not hiding anything, so.

Q. I'm not saying you are. The actual fact of having to have a blood test.

SERENA WILLIAMS: If things were sterile and clean, why not?

Q. We thought that Jehovah's Witnesses do not give blood.

SERENA WILLIAMS: That's a blood test. Just to have a blood test. Sometimes you have to get your blood tested to see if you have a disease, to see what's wrong. That's okay. We don't give blood to other people so they can donate and have blood transfusions.

Q. There's a difference between giving and testing?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Under no circumstances would I give blood to be donated to give to someone else because it's against my religion.

Q. The last time a woman tennis player, Monica Seles, in particular, rang the opening bell on the Stock Exchange, the market crashed, the second worst day. Agassi was up in arms saying that Monica shouldn't go next to the Stock Exchange ever again. Were you at all worried?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, man, I was pretty nervous. I was thinking, I didn't want to have any negative vibes. I was thinking only positive things, the stocks have to go up. I know the do you went up 50 points by the time I left. The NASDAQ was up by 8. It wasn't bad. What was the closing? Was it up?

MODERATOR: It was up 60.
Q. So Serena is a good omen?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes. I'll have to do it again.

Q. What kind of special feelings did you get today?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, I don't know. I didn't feel special at all. I didn't play well today.

Q. Not from walking on to the court where you won your title.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, actually I was expecting to feel, you know, really special. I didn't. The guy that was announcing, he said, "Our defending US Open Champ," I couldn't help but smile, I did it. Other than that, I didn't really feel --.

Q. In light of the other gentleman's question about what McEnroe had said, even if that's true, why do you think there seems to be so much more of a buzz with the women these days perhaps than at any other time in recent history? How much do you feel you and your sister have to do with that?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Because we're strong, we're very strong. We're making it happen in different ways. We're bringing new power, we can run fast, we can jump high, we can last. We have it all.

Q. As opposed to 20 years ago, that's a (marked/market?) difference?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think 20 years ago, the game was different, the style was different. Now people are going to the gym a little more. Martina, she actually changed to a new level because she was going to the gym also. I don't know.

Q. Can you walk in down the street in New York City?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No.

Q. You can't?

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

End of FastScripts....

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