US OPEN

September 8, 1999

Serena Williams

WTA: Questions for Serena.

SERENA WILLIAMS: She has two names, because I couldn't decide. She's named Jackie or Baila, which means "dance" in Spanish.

SERENA WILLIAMS: She's a Jack Russell.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Lexington and 62nd. She said, "No more questions."

SERENA WILLIAMS: No.

SERENA WILLIAMS: In the third set, I was really focused. I really just came out with a better plan. I was a little nervous in the first set because it was obviously my first quarterfinal in a Grand Slam. I put too much pressure on myself. The third set, I completely calmed down. I just began to play my game. That's how I play normally.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I was pretty excited at first. I mean, believe it or not, it's already settled in. I'm ready to move on.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm definitely a more wiser person. I'm overall just a better player. That's what's changed. Time goes and you just become a better player.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think so. I have the attitude that I'm just not going to lose. I've been doing pretty well in third sets this tournament. I need to start doing better in the first sets. I never had this problem, though. Usually, you'll notice, like in Acura Classic, I didn't lose a set. I usually never have these problems. I don't know.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think better on the court. I see the whole court instead of just one side, one-dimensional. I see the whole court now. That's really important.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I sure have.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I did really prepare mentally for this tournament for quite some time now. I think that's maybe what it has to do with. I'm really convinced that I was definitely going to do well here. This was a great opportunity for me. Especially skipping Wimbledon, that was really terrible for me because I was really ready to play. I wasn't able to play. I was really ready to be here. I was so mentally prepared, I think that was the difference. I'm going to try to do that in the other Slams also.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually, I tripped because my shoe got caught a little. I thought maybe it could be a crack in the ground. I kind of fell on my hand, and it was like a little stiff. I said, "I don't have time for this. I have to move on."

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, Venus is definitely a more powerful player than what I am. I would say I'm a little less powerful player. I use more of the court than what Venus does, although she's doing that a lot better now. She has a bigger serve, but I have more aces (laughter).

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it was mixed. A lot of people out there are really for me. I was pretty excited about that. Usually when I go into courts, the crowd tends to kind of be for the other person. Here in New York, it was pretty exciting that everybody was pretty much clapping for me. Monica had a lot of fans out there too.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely don't feel like a veteran. I feel like I've been practicing for years and years. I've been practicing since I was four to do well not only at the small tournaments; I've been doing well at those, but your ranking really doesn't move unless you do well in the big tournaments.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Monica had me on the run. She's very good at putting people on the run. She had me side-to-side. Actually had 40-15 in that game. I kept thinking to myself, "If I can get this first game, that was really important." It was really important for me. I kept thinking, "One point at a time." I just happened to get there and hit a lob. Like I said before in a lot of other interviews, I don't like people to hit winners on me. Monica hit quite a few today. She's that type of person. When you play her, you know she's going to hit a couple winners on you.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I definitely could have mixed up my shots better. I haven't seen the stats, but I think I definitely made way too many unforced errors. I think I played a nervous game out there, to be quite honest.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually, yeah, kind of, sort of. It's always a good thing to have those wide serves on both sides of the court. It's a good thing. That makes a player stress. You have the whole opening. I've noticed that's a good serve. I, of course, want to adopt that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: We're not mentioning names here?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I still have one more match. My dad has been right about a lot of things. You have to admit. He said I was going to come up. I have. He's been right about quite a few things. I still have one match to go. If I can do well in this match, I know it will be great. If not, I don't have anything to lose.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I didn't?

SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, I think everyone should wait and see.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'll start with Venus. She's playing more thinker. She's playing Martina, who thinks very well on the court. I've watched her last matches. She's hitting balls more harder. She's moving the ball around. She's really moving up. She's doing a lot of good things. So Venus is going to have to attack, not make too many errors. I think she can do that. She has to stay mentally sound. The other semifinal, which includes me, we have two power hitters. Lindsay hits the ball really hard. I hit the ball hard. It's going to be a fun semifinals. It's pretty exciting for women's tennis. Again, we're always carrying the men's tennis (laughter).

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, absolutely I'm going to do both. I'm going to have to play the winner. If I'm able to make it through, I'm going to have to play the winner of that match. Of course, you want to see what the other person is doing on the other side of the fence. That's what I'm going to do.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Who?

SERENA WILLIAMS: She might have something in her back pocket that she hasn't pulled out yet.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Have her watching me?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I mean, just to be honest, I prefer, I guess, to have her watching me. In this tournament, I definitely would prefer to see her on the other side of the net. In most tournaments, I really prefer to see her on the other side of the net because I would like her to win her matches and meet up with me. That would definitely be the most obvious choice.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I think Lindsay really likes for people to hit really hard, I guess. Venus really brings that game to her. Like I said, Venus is more powerful than me. She's bigger and stronger. I can't have as much power as Lindsay and Venus do. Maybe that gives her a little trouble. I don't know.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I personally believe I have one of the best forehands out there. Actually, it was me and Steffi competing. Every time I played her, I would get in a rally, forehand cross-court. I probably won two. She won a lot of them.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Steffi.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I haven't played her recently enough to get her in the forehand cross-court rallies. I watched her matches. She's really swinging it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: We'll just have to wait and see what I'm thinking at that point in time.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Not necessarily, no.

SERENA WILLIAMS: If you read my dad's comments, you'll notice that he says it's a liberal family. What is it, a democracy? Yeah.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I really have no secret. I just go out there and play. If you're playing Serena, honestly, even on a bad day, I'm tough to beat.

SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, I think so. With Venus and I both still in the singles and doubles, we can walk home with a pocketful of money. We might go ahead and compete for Rockefeller Center.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes. Like overseas especially. Like at the Lipton, that's definitely the most support. Overseas when I'm playing the other French people, Germans, if I'm in Germany, they really support their people. There's nothing wrong with that. It's a great thing. That's basically it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Here it's really good. I remember Indian Wells, I was playing Steffi in the final, she had a lot of fans. But she had most of the crowd, I think. She's a great champion. Who wouldn't want to cheer for her? What other? I mean, it was ironic, though, in LA where I was from. I was playing Julie Halard in the final. She totally won the crowd because she had so many wonderful wins. I think she beat Lindsay and someone else. I can't remember.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't think so. Everyone comes up to me, seems like everyone comes up to me and said, "Good luck," yet I didn't have that much support there. It's okay. I took home the title. That's all that matters.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it was uncomfortable maybe during the coin toss and maybe the first game. After that, it's like you see her as an opponent because you want to win. You don't think about anything else. Other than that, other than like the first game, it's normal. You're out there and competing and you have to compete.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I definitely do. I definitely have the best situation because it's like traveling with a friend. Yeah, I mean, I get to travel with my mom and dad. It's great, awesome.

SERENA WILLIAMS: We really don't play sets much. We usually just practice and do a lot of drills, really prepare with that stuff. We don't too much play any sets. I think we like to keep that for the tournaments.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Not really. Usually we hit against other people. We have other guys that we hit against. We don't really play points. Thanks.

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