US OPEN

September 4, 1999

Serena Williams

WTA: Questions for Serena.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. I've seen her play before at Wimbledon. I know she played well. She's young. When you're young, you're really not feeling it. Especially when you're playing a higher seed, you have nothing to lose. I knew I was in for a good match. I was very well prepared.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I was thinking, "This can't happen to me. Why me?" I was just really tired of having to go out all the time early. I just wanted to take it one point at time. That's when my determination really kicked in. I really was determined at that point.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I never think -- no matter if I'm down 6-0, 5-0, Love-40, I never think I'm going to lose until the point is over. Then it's really like stunning for me, it's just really amazing for me, because it's weird that I actually lost. I never think about that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I just said to myself, "I'm going to play the way I've been taught to play." I don't think she got tight at all. I think I came up with several winners, I think four winners. I came up with four big serves.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I was just really, throughout the whole match, making way too many errors, to be quite honest. She was just making her shots. She was hitting the lines all the time. It's kind of difficult to play someone who every ball hits the line. I mean, I could have definitely played a lot better just all around, especially serving.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, that's really good for me because I've always been very determined. I've always been able to come back. That was okay. It really means a lot because now that I'm able to do it in the larger tournaments, not just smaller tournaments. I want to be able to do it in bigger tournaments also, so that was very important.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I am just taking it one match at a time. I'm not looking too far ahead in the draw. I'm focusing on every match. As you can see today, everybody is here to win. So am I. I'm just taking it one match at a time.

SERENA WILLIAMS: The whole match (laughter)? I don't think I got any serves throughout the whole match. I'm going to work on that. Actually, I'm going to hit today. Actually, it was ridiculous the way I was serving out there. Finally, the last couple games I got four good serves in. Other than that, I was only kidding myself.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I guess he was very excited. I know I was. I was pretty stoked.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. He was just like, "Good job." I did good.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm ready to play her. I played her before on the clay. I haven't played her on the hard. I know she rallies a lot and she runs super fast. She can do everything: she can hit lobs and slice and dropshots. I have to make sure I'm ready.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, definitely not. That was definitely pretty magnificent the way I was able to be determined and come back and just really stay focused like that. I think that was really great. I don't recall having done that before, so that's good for me.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I saw her play at Wimbledon. She played Steffi Graf. I'm glad I saw that match. I knew she was a tough player. She's young and she's doing her best. She's pretty big. She's a big girl.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm used to that everywhere I play, no matter where I go. I think it was pretty good actually. Usually, they're all against me, so. This is pretty good. This is better than usual. I think the crowd were pretty much on my side. If the crowd is against me, I'm used to it. I was playing one time in Paris, in my first tournament. The whole crowd, because I was playing Amelie Mauresmo in the final. It was a French person, so the whole crowd, take my mom, my hitting partner, were against me. When I was able to pull that through, I said, "Serena, you're able to pull out anything if you can do that."

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think so, definitely. I like the US Open. They're one of the few people that do support me at times. Your greatest support is going to come from your own racquet.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely think it relates a lot to my mental toughness because if you're not mentally there, it's really hard to come out and do anything. You really have to be mentally focused.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I mean, usually when you're overseas, they support their own players. It's not like America, like Steffi Graf can come over here and she has all the support. She's a great player, though. So I can understand that. It's just like that. I don't know. It's okay.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. I really realized that Australians really support me. I went there this year, and they were very supportive. I saw lots of little girls with beads in their hair. I was actually very surprised at all the support I received from Australia. Besides New York, then I would say the Australians.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. This is actually not my biggest comeback. I actually have a bigger comeback. This is the best comeback because it's actually in a Slam. I lost first set 6-2 -- 6-1, down 5-2, 15-40. I came back to win the match. I mean, it wasn't a Slam. It definitely wasn't as big.

SERENA WILLIAMS: It was against Lindsay at Sydney.

SERENA WILLIAMS: That was last year. She won Sydney this year.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes. I'm still sensitive about that. Very sensitive subject.