US OPEN

August 31, 1998

Serena Williams

Q. What exactly happened to your leg?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, what happened was I was in practice, actually the other day and I kind of strained a hamstring muscle, so I am -- it was -- it served as a little distraction to me in my match today.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, this is hamstring. At Wimbledon I had a calf. So I don't have any calf problems.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I believe she came out with a plan to try to win, a lot of people usually come out just to get a couple of games or see how well they can do. I believe that she came out with a plan to do her best and try harder than she would probably actually try and do under different circumstances I think that she played pretty well. I don't think I played that well though.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think that and just my game is off today. Maybe next time -- I am definitely going to have to play better whether I want to or not.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I guess it was pretty exciting, particular for me because I definitely wanted to win. I didn't want to go out in the first round. I kept saying to myself: Serena, you can't be a first-round casualty. It just would have been horrible. I didn't want that to happen. So I had to keep concentrating: Okay, come on, Serena, come on.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I never thought about that this whole match at all. I am glad I didn't. I probably would have put even more pressure on myself. I never thought about that. So it never came to my mind.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it helped a lot. I think the stadium was pretty much full at the end, actually it was very full at the end so I think that helped. I like playing in big stadiums.

SERENA WILLIAMS: She said: Serena, why don't you go through three sets, you can make it to the final. (Laughs)

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes, I had a volley and I thought I made it, but obviously I didn't. I went for it too much because I wanted to end it and I didn't want to have any problems closing out the match. But that happened and the second one, I guess it was just a case of classic, I don't know, nerves, I guess, I don't know.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I never thought about that. I just thought about making my shot. I just didn't -- my techniques, they were not correct, and if you don't have the correct techniques, it is going to breakdown and I didn't have the correct techniques and it broke down.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I just know I played Nicole Pratt in the first round. I don't know who I played in the second round I am not looking toward that. I am just looking at one match at a time and usually in all the tournaments I look at the draw and obviously I haven't won any, so it hasn't been working so let me try something different. (Laughs) So, I am taking a different approach.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes, last year it was but right now I am out there and I am having a lot of wins myself. I just -- I guess last week I was No. 20 and I did not even know that I thought I was 21. This week I am 19 and I didn't know that until today. So I really don't look at those things -- I just think I am playing pretty -- okay, now and I just want to keep going.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, all my sisters are here except for the eldest, she is in California. My dad is here - guys, if you want to say anything about that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: My goal here is just to do the best that I can do. I am not looking at the draw, so, I had actually -- I was watching TV last night and they showed the draw, I was like: Serena, I had to turn my head. I wanted to peak, but I did not peak, so I was pretty good. Those are my goals, just to do the best that I can do and I know if I can do the best I can do, I can go along ways.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I have as good a chance as anyone else has here. Everyone, when they enter the tournament, it is 1 out of 128. That is how it begins as it narrows down each time, so, we will just have to see.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I am not playing the doubles event. Although I had points to defend, two points, so that is going to drop off. That is really disappointing because it really is a lot of points to defend. (Laughs) Really wanted to defend those double points.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I didn't say no mixed.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually I am entered into the mixed.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I have to. My ranking is not that good. My partner is not that good so I had to get a wildcard.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Wimbledon.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes, Wimbledon champs.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Usually my matches I never hit more than three doublefaults and the injury really, really hurt my serve a lot because I don't like doublefaulting. I never have, and I probably never will. So it really served as a great impediment to my serve; I wasn't able to move on with that basically. Other than that, maybe my -- obviously my moving skills. I wasn't able to move as fast or as much, so --

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think her plan was to go out and try to beat me obviously because she can say: I have beat Serena Williams or then her next round she probably wanted to do well in this tournament also, but I think that sometimes a lot of players come out play really hard against a lot of playing, really hard against the younger players because they don't -- I don't know, younger players, yeah, so --

SERENA WILLIAMS: I really don't think so. No. I couldn't really say. You were there, were you not?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I am just going to get some treatment on my leg maybe soft tissue work, maybe some ultrasound, I am not sure yet. Had to come talk to you guys.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Usually when I am in a match I really don't look over too much -- I guess I did notice, but I didn't notice until in the third set. You really don't have time to think about that when you are out on the court because you are completely focused on different things, so I guess if I was playing, if I was in the crowd and I saw someone playing the way I was, I would have left too. (Laughs)

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I am not sure -- I think he might have had a meeting to go to. I am sure that wasn't the reason that he left, because I wasn't playing that well, but he had a meeting or something.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I only played one tournament after Wimbledon. I think I should have played a couple more. I think -- I would have liked to have had a few more matches, so I think that would have been good for me. It is too late now.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I had some school -- I was entering one tournament, but I had to go to summer school so I could try and finish and get my diploma. It was really tough, so, I am still working on it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I had to take two final exams and couple of the tests and I will be finish.

SERENA WILLIAMS: High school.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I took my final exams in physics and Algebra II. I am done with all that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: On the physics I got 82, I was very proud of that. I have no comment on the Algebra II.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I just have to take the easy ones like some science and economics.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Environmental science.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, definitely.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, my dad always said negative attention is better than no attention, so, as long as the truth lives inside of us and we know what the truth is, that stuff really doesn't bother you because you know what the truth is, it doesn't really matter.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes, I really liked it. It was great, especially when I came out to try to break her for the match. They really started-- like I always saw on TV the crowd goes wild, so it was pretty exciting to have it happen to me for the first time, first of many.

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