COMPAQ GRAND SLAM CUP

October 3, 1999

Serena Williams

WTA: Questions for Serena, please.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I mean, you're out there, you're just playing. It's like any other opponent. I was cruising today. I haven't played this well since I don't know when. It was a good match for me.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, naturally. I've never actually beat Venus. I didn't know how it feels. It's actually kind of tough to take this win. I actually have had a win over everyone in the Top 10. I never had a win over Venus, so.

SERENA WILLIAMS: That I played harder today?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I played better today. Like I say, I haven't played this well, especially in the first set. Other than that, I started going back to my regular game, making a lot of errors, being silly. In the first set, I was pretty focused, playing pretty well there.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Just, "Good job. It was a good match." It was the first time I ever had a win over Venus. I guess it was exciting. It's just something that - we're going to play each other a lot, it's going to go back and forth a lot. I don't think Venus played that great today. This is the first time I actually played pretty well.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm not going to the States, I'm going to another tournament. Venus, we're just talking. It's like life. Like I always say in all my interviews, there's tennis and then there's our family. We always take family first because it's going to be most important. All my life I'm going to have to live with Venus because she's always going to be my sister - my mom. Always have to get along.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't think so. I think I really -- when I'm playing my best, I'm kind of hard to beat, just as Venus, when she's playing her best, she's like invincible. We're both really tough to beat when we're playing our best. Like I said, I don't think Venus played her best today. I had 16 matches before. I really wanted to win this match because I'm really trying to beat my record of 16. So now I'm tired and I'm going to go into the next tournament with a plan on doing my best there also.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I don't think so. Every time I played, I didn't play so well, or Venus played better. At Lipton, it was pretty close. She was more experienced. She was just the better player that day. As I mentioned earlier, we're going to play each other a lot, the matches are going to go back and forth. It's going to be exciting for women's tennis.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't feel the crowd. I think they're a little nervous for who to clap for. It's kind of weird. They only clap on good points. Other than that, it was mostly silent.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, sure, I like playing in Germany. Germany's great. It's a great opportunity.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I like kirschtasche.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Kirschtasche is the best.