WIMBLEDON

June 27, 2004

Serena Williams

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND

THE MODERATOR: Serena Williams for you.

Q. How good is it to be finished before the rain delay?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it's really good. I saw the people coming to the --
the attendants coming, looked like they were going to cover the court at
4-love. I was like, "Oh, boy, I better really -- don't want to be up 5-love,
40-15 and have to come off the court." That would have been really
unfortunate.

Q. One match was interrupted between Golovin and Gagliardi. You are going to
play the winner. Do you know the French girl, Golovin?

SERENA WILLIAMS: She's been doing really well. I saw her play at the French
Open, actually. I've been watching her game a little bit. I've played
Gagliardi before so, yeah...

Q. Was this your best performance of the fortnight? She's a tricky player to
play.

SERENA WILLIAMS: She's very tricky. I'm really feeling really satisfied with
my movement because especially in the second set she was hitting the slice.
But I started adding the spin and really actually playing grass court tennis
instead of clay court or hard court. I was beginning to come to the net a
little bit more. I was pretty excited about it. So I'm getting better each
round.

Q. It seems like you had real good rhythm on your serve, too.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I did. For years my dad's been telling me, "Take the pace
off. Don't hit them 120 if you can hit it 110." First time in 10 years I
decided, "Okay, hmm..." It finally clicked. "Okay, I'm only gonna hit 110 and
just place it and it worked every time." I took a lot of pace off and got it
in.

Q. Jennifer Capriati said the rain made her sluggish for her last match. Is
that responsible for why you didn't start so quickly in the first set?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I just didn't start so quickly because I was still
getting a rhythm. She hit some pretty good shots. I was getting used to her
game for the first few games. She has a really wicked serve. Her balls are
literally this low off the ground, so you really have to be low.

Q. How would you sum up your first week at Wimbledon this year?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I made it through with all the rain. This is the first time
I played on the Sunday - I think.

Q. Just mentally compare yourself to last year at this time after the first
week, how you're feeling, how the game's going, confidence level, all that.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually, I'm feeling better and I'm trying to feel -- last
year, wasn't really feeling really good my play. Really was disappointed in
it. This year I'm just feeling better because I've been through a lot
physically, you know. And just for me to be at this point right now, where
I'm really, really, really feeling good for the first time, so I'm really
looking at the positives.

Q. Could you step back for a moment and share with us where you might like
your life to be in about 20 years from now, way down in the distant future.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Twenty years from now, that would make me... 32 (laughter).
I would, you know, I would see my company Aneres, we'd be really huge -
hopefully. If it's blessed enough, we'd have a really solid company with my
clothing line and hopefully have a few little Serenas running around - two
Serenas.

Q. Would you still be involved in tennis then, and what about the movies?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, definitely. Hopefully by then I would have really made
my mark in the movies as well, I would say about -- I don't know how many
films. Do a few different comedies, few different scary films or whatever. I
think it would be fun. And what I made my mark in? In the movies I think I
would have been successful as well, too, hopefully. I'd still only be 32, so
it's kind of hard.

Q. You said the other day your best attribute as an actress was your scream.
No offense whatsoever, but has your tennis career helped you a little bit
with that?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I'm real dramatic, as well. I just have a good scream,
but I'm also really funny and have a great personality on the camera and also
have a really good laugh. At any given moment, I can just laugh. It doesn't
matter. So it's really brought on. I think tennis has helped me because I do
scream a lot on the court, too.

Q. The scream was better than the punch you threw in "Street Time" to knock
that girl out?

SERENA WILLIAMS: The punch was terrible. Actually had to do a couple takes
because my first punch was literally like this (motioning). I've never been
in a fight before, so... But after a while, they took me aside and was like,
"Serena, you got to punch." So the scream's definitely better.

Q. Did you notice any difference in the atmosphere out there today?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it was more fun and more live and more real, and I
really liked that. I remember one year, maybe 2001 I want to say, I had to
play on the Monday after Wimbledon was over, because we had to play doubles.
One of the worst -- I was so stressed, I was really ready to go. But it was
the same atmosphere there. It was just like a younger crowd, the people were
really real and they were really just out there screaming and enjoying the
tennis. I really, really liked that atmosphere.

Q. Tim just said that he thought People's Sunday should perhaps be
institutionalized. Would you like to see that here and also have a
reduced-cost day at the US Open to bring in fresh fans, so to speak?

SERENA WILLIAMS: What do you mean "institutionalized"?

Q. That it would occur each year.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No one plays on Sunday.

Q. There would be a Sunday.

SERENA WILLIAMS: People could get in?

Q. Yes.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I really kind of like -- one thing about
Wimbledon what makes it special is you know every Sunday you're not going to
play and you can just relax on that day and. Yeah, I kind of appreciate that.
I think there should be more people allowed to get tickets. I don't quite
understand the whole ticket situation here.

Q. Have you noticed any change in Jennifer Capriati this year, just in the
way she's playing the game or...?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, she's really excited about life. I think she's really
happy to be doing so well in here career still. I just always see her really
more optimistic about things.

Q. When you came back in March, did you expect that it would take you, say,
three months to feel this physically good as you're feeling this week? Or did
you think, "I'm feeling pretty good in practice, been running a bit, I should
be able to pick up where I left off"?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, definitely thought the latter. I was feeling pretty
good in practice, you know, pick up where I left off. But at the same time I
think kind of inside I kind of knew that it would be a little more difficult
than just picking it up.

Q. With the knee, was it more just having confidence running, or was there a
legitimate soreness over the last couple months?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it was a little of both. Legitimate soreness and
confidence running, you know. It was like, "Okay, I'm not gonna go as fast as
I can, I'll just go a little slower. I'll take off a little slower, then I'll
pick it up." So that definitely was a major factor.

Q. How hard is it for you, I mean, do you have to force yourself to go to the
net because of the way you grew up in the game? I mean, you and Venus both
volley so well. Doubles comes very easily to you all. Do you have to force
yourself to go to the net or...?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I just am a baseliner, I guess. And my idols were
Navratilova and John McEnroe, when my idols really should have been someone
like Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert. I don't necessarily have to force myself
to go to the net. I just find myself enjoying -- I mean, I love playing on
the baseline, that I have to find myself, "Okay, it's all right, Serena, you
can play at the net, too." It's more of a love I have. I become one with the
baseline.

Q. Did you see comments made by Navratilova in a column yesterday saying you
should concentrate more on your tennis rather than outside interests? Because
they come from her, would you take more notice of them?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, sure. (Note it/noted?)

Q. Did you see it in The Guardian, what she was saying?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Excuse me?

Q. Did you read the paper?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I don't read the papers. I just look at the pictures.

Q. Really, are you doing anything more that you didn't do the last two or
three years when you won this tournament twice in a row and won the US Open?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I'm not eating as much candy as I used to. I've been
really good this past week and a half, two weeks. I've like had close to no
chocolate, no sugar. So, yeah, I'm doing much better. I'm in much better
shape, too.

Q. In terms of outside interests, really, when you were winning this Grand
Slam the last two years, and the US Open, did you have as many outside
interests then as you do now?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I did, but I was afraid to act on them. And I was
afraid that, you know, if I act on them, then will I be successful, what will
other people perceive it to be. But then once I got over that fear and I
realized, "This is only so long. I don't want to be, you know, 32 and not
know exactly what's gonna happen in my future. I want to already have my
future planned out." It was a real fear. I think a lot of people, they
actually have a fear of doing other things because of what people might say
or what people would perceive them to be. Honestly, I could get in a car
accident today and never play tennis again, and then I wouldn't have anything
to fall back on. But fortunately enough, I do. And so whether I did it a year
ago... I've done more. But it's like once I'm at a tournament, it's all about
tennis. Like I'll sit down and I'll sketch, but sketching is totally
different from whatever. I'll sit down, I'll read a script. It's just like me
reading a book. That's the only difference. When I'm at Wimbledon, I'm 100
percent focused on Wimbledon.

Q. The bottom line is, would you agree that you can have these outside
interests and it doesn't affect your tennis?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I would agree 100 percent, because you can't allow something
to serve as a hindrance to you.

Q. Does it annoy you when you hear people saying, "The Williams dynasty is in
decline," or, "They don't have the aura of domination they've had in the
past"?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I've never really heard that either. Nothing really
bothers me, to be honest with you.

Q. Did you ever really believe that there was a dynasty, or did you pretty
much figure that tennis has its ebbs and flows and, "Venus and I will play
great for a few years, other people will come in, we'll come back again, get
to the top"? Did you have the expectation you could, both of you combined,
dominate for a decade?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think that we are still, you know, trying to reach the top
level of our game. And I think -- I never really thought about us dominating
for a period of time. I just always see me playing tournament at a time and
seeing myself winning each tournament that I'm at. So I guess that is
dominance, but I don't know.

Q. How long do you see yourself still playing tennis?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, you know, I see myself playing for a number of years -
not as long as Ms. Navratilova but, you know... I definitely see myself
playing for a long time.