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U.S. OPENAugust 24, 2013Serena WilliamsNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. I wanted to ask, it's the 40th anniversary of equal prize money here and the 40th anniversary of the WTA. What does it mean to be a woman's player here and where do you think you fit in in that history? SERENA WILLIAMS: It's amazing to be a part of such great history and women's tennis and women's sports. I think it's just female in general. So I think it's really exciting for me to have an opportunity to play for equal prize money. And thanks to people like Billie Jean King and the original 11 that started, that sat down and said, You know, We want equal prize money. This is what we're going to do. It feels really good. Q. Can you talk about how much you're looking forward to taking the court on Monday, especially coming off the loss in Cincinnati? We know you hate to lose. How eager are you to get back out there? SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm definitely really excited. Every time I lose, I get so pumped afterwards and I just feel that way. I just feel like now I'm ready; now I'm prepared. I almost needed that to take my game to a new level. Q. If someone said you could trade all the titles you won this year for another Grand Slam or two, what would you say? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I would ‑‑that's not a fair question. (Smiling). It's tough to say. Obviously I live to play the Grand Slams. Obviously I would love to trade those in, but you can't. I'm really proud of all the tournaments that I have won. I think ultimately a lot of the tournaments I won is the reason I was able to win the French Open and be able to do well there. Q. Can you talk about your rivalry with Victoria and put it in context with respect to all the great rivalries you've had since you broke into tennis? SERENA WILLIAMS: Wow. I have had so many great rivalries. You know, you never really know how deep a rivalry is until you play the person several times. I think the head to head is close, but I think, you know, it's just always good to play such great players like Victoria who really plays well and makes me lift my game to a new level. Q. Men and women play with different balls here at the US Open. Can you talk a little bit about whether or not you can really tell the difference between the balls, especially as a power server, and what do you look for when you're sort of using balls on your serve? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, there is definitely a difference in the men's and women's balls. I don't know what it is. I use the ladies balls. I don't practice with the men's balls, so I can't answer that question. Q. What are your thoughts about the year that Sloane Stephens has had, and how would you characterize your relationship with her now? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think Sloane has had such a good year this year. She's done really well in the Grand Slams, two of the Grand Slams better than I have. She's such a good player and she's so smooth. I always say she's just such a smooth player to watch. She just has this game and this confidence that, you know, that's not easy to get. It's so good to see her doing so well. It's an honor to watch, really. Q. You played and won a lot this season. Can you tell us the keys for your motivation, the keys to keeping motivated? SERENA WILLIAMS: Gosh, my motivation just comes from different place and different areas. I love to play tennis and I love winning, and I think that keeps me motivated, is the fact if I'm doing well and I'm winning. Then I want to keep it up and I want to keep improving and try to keep winning. If I lose, then the motivation is just completely opposite. I want to figure out why and what I can do to be better, if I can do that. Q. Even after all those years? SERENA WILLIAMS: After you all the years, you know, it just ‑‑my motivation has definitely changed, I can say, from the first year I played till this year. It's just completely different. Q. Can you talk about some of your first memories here? SERENA WILLIAMS: Um, yeah, I think some of my first memories were definitely of Venus playing here and doing so well I believe in '97. Actually, I was walking by Kathy Rinaldi yesterday, and I have reason to believe I played her in doubles. I'm pretty sure we played her and we lost. Actually was meaning to tell Venus that, because ‑‑wow, I'm not sure if that was '97 or '98. That just flooded back at me. That was another memory that's probably my earliest memory. Q. Can you talk a little bit about '99? Were you actually surprised now looking back at a young age like that that you could come through and win the way you did? SERENA WILLIAMS: It's so funny, and whenever anyone asks me about that, I honestly, when the tournament started, I told myself I was going to win and I felt it. It's weird. I have these weird feelings all the time, and I just felt I was going to win this tournament. I wasn't really surprised. I mean, I was happy and elated, but I just had this instinct. It's just weird, but I had that instinct that I was going to win this title. And I beat, in the final ‑‑all the players I played I had pretty much beaten before. I had beaten Martina a few times and Monica and Lindsay. I knew I could do it. It was just putting them all together. Q. Do you have a feeling or instinct you're going to win this year, Serena? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, the instincts don't come as often this time, nowadays. But my instincts, no, I don't have an instinct. But I have also had that feeling going to a lot of slams I have won, too. Q. You have played more matches this year really than ever before. How do you feel physically coming in and coming off that? SERENA WILLIAMS: It's interesting. I feel great. I feel completely recharged. I feel fine. To play more matches now later in my career than sooner, it's interesting how good I feel. Q. Will you enjoy that distinction? If you win singles this year, you would be the oldest woman singles champion. Would you enjoy having that distinction on your record? SERENA WILLIAMS: Sure, that would be great. That's not one thing I focus on and one thing I think about. I just think about there are so many people in the competition and so many things I would like to do. Q. Venus has to play Flipkens again. Can you assess where Venus is physically and whether or not it's possible she could do something in the tournament if she's feeling well enough? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, she's getting better and better. I think she had a really good shot at Flipkens last time. I think it will definitely be a good match. I think it will be really interesting. So we'll see. We'll see how it goes. I think she has a good chance. Q. You won a lot of titles this year. Do you feel winning a second slam would make it really great here? SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I don't need to do anything. That's the beauty of my career. I don't need to do anything at all. Everything I do from this day forward is a bonus. Actually from yesterday. It doesn't matter. Everything for me is just extra. Q. The four Grand Slams are always so different from one another. When you compare them, what sort of feelings do you have the first time you start thinking about the US Open, when you first come here each year compared to the other slams? SERENA WILLIAMS: For me, it's the same. I'm always thinking about the Grand Slams. I'm always thinking about, Wow, I can't wait to get to the Open, or, Gosh, I can't wait to go to Australia. There are different memories that pop up in my mind. The Open, I just see Arthur Ashe Stadium. In Australia I see, you know, the gym for some reason. Strange, but... Each slam has different memories. It's special. Q. Some comments on playing Schiavone. You just played her a few weeks ago. SERENA WILLIAMS: It will be a good match. She's a really good player. She's a big fighter and she's dangerous. It's definitely not an easy draw, but it's something I look forward to. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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