US OPEN

September 2, 2005

Serena Williams

NEW YORK CITY

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Serena.

Q. Do you rate yourself about 50% today?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I guess I had to play good because she was playing
really well.

Q. Where do you put your game now? You said you needed to be up to 80 or 90%
to compete with Venus.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, she has a match to win, too. She's playing
unbelievable. I'm just going to have to pick up. You know, each game I'm
picking up the level of my play. So I'm definitely picking it up each round.

Q. What happened to Venus? How did she suddenly have this turnaround at
Wimbledon?

SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, it wasn't all of a sudden. Venus has been working
hard for quite some time to turn this thing up. She's been working hard for
quite some time. She's always in the gym. She's always running miles. She's
always practicing. For her, she'd practice three, four hours, if necessary. I
take a different route, I don't practice as much on the court, as her. You
know, she's been so serious with her tennis. It's just a matter of timing and
just a point here and a point there.

Q. Do you think there was a believability factor for her, too?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I really don't know. I do things -- you know,
I thought she was going to win lots of Grand Slams before that. I picked her
to win the Australian Open because she was really playing really unbelievable
there. I just think it was just a matter, like I said, a point here, a point
there.

Q. About your form, how do you think you're playing?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I'm playing okay. I'm definitely playing better than
my first match. Definitely playing better than I was even a week ago and two
weeks ago. I definitely think I'm getting better and better.

Q. There's always anticipation when you might play Venus. If you do play her,
can you talk about how disappointing it is that it's this early in a
tournament?

SERENA WILLIAMS: It's obviously extremely disappointing to have to play my
sister in the next round, if that's how it plays out. But I can't tell you
the disappointment. You know, hopefully one of us will be in the quarters and
we'll just have to go from there.

Q. When people are calling out, "C'mon, Serena," are you able to hear your
father's voice?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I can kind of differentiate my dad's voice. I hear him over
here sometimes, I could have swore I heard him on the other side. I wasn't
sure if he was moving around or not. I haven't had the chance to speak with
him yet. I definitely listen for it innately.

Q. Does it help you when you hear him?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it does. I mean, I think it does.

Q. You were sort of hesitant and very cautious a couple weeks ago in Toronto.
You ran for a dropshot in the second set. How has there been a transformation
like that? You were afraid it seemed like when you played in Toronto.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Like I said, I just needed a few more days. I wasn't quite
ready. It was just a matter of a couple days of just getting it back
together. My knee's definitely feeling a lot better. Toronto, I just wasn't
feeling that great. I don't know the turnaround. Maybe it's been the prayer.

Q. Can you compare at all the way you're feeling playing today with the way
you were playing at the Nasdaq in the spring?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I can't remember how I was playing at the Nasdaq. I don't
remember being in that tournament too long. I can't answer that question.

Q. In looking at the US Open series, they have your ad here of sort of the
diva. Is that an image you're comfortable with? Is that something you really
like? I'm not comparing you to Mariah Carey or Madonna, but is that something
you're comfortable with?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm definitely no Mariah Carey; I'm definitely no Madonna.
That's for sure. To even be put in that that category is definitely kind of
cool, if anything, yeah.

Q. There's been a lot of talk this week about your jewelry, reality show.
There's been upset about you and Venus, some of the comments seem
self-absorbed, playing to stereotypes of wealthy athletes. Can you comment
about that, in light of the hurricane.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Can you as well elaborate on that for me? I don't read the
press. I don't read what you guys write.

Q. One respected writer wrote --

SERENA WILLIAMS: A respected writer, mind you. Go ahead. Picking on a young,
young woman, but go ahead.

Q. I don't understand what you're saying, but I'll continue, "As the rest of
the country shuddered about Katrina, the Williamses fed every bad stereotype
about rich, spoiled, self-absorbed athletes. You'd never know their father
was from Louisiana. "

SERENA WILLIAMS: How was that? I think I actually made a very kind gesture
out of nowhere. I just decided in the middle of the match, you know, for
every ace I hit, I want to donate money, stuff like thaat. So I don't get
that one. You know, I just think people should honestly look at themselves
before they judge another person. I've never been spoiled. I've been always
-- to this day, I refuse to buy a car. I want a Range Rover very bad, but I
don't feel as if I deserve it. I refuse to spend the money to buy a Range --
if you look at my house, I don't have all these elaborate things that
athletes have. I don't live the elaborate life. The diamonds are borrowed. I
won't buy them because I'm too cheap (laughter). If you go down to my
mother's foundation, our foundation, we do a lot of different things on a lot
of different levels. We do the McDonald's tour. At the end of the year last
year, I was completely injured. I couldn't even serve in one of the matches.
It was for charity. It was for helping other people. I went that extra mile
and a half each of those nights to play against Venus and put on a great show
so that the people in these different cities that have never seen us play
before have an opportunity to do that. That was for charity again. Like I
just said, I don't understand where it's coming from. It wasn't like -- I
think I was probably the first player to even say anything about donating
money. This is obviously someone who maybe is upset with us on something
else. Maybe we can give them an interview.

Q. I think it was more directed at Venus. You did make the gesture. Venus,
when she was asked about it in this room, she said she really didn't know
about it, she wasn't watching on TV, it's better not to know what's going on
in the news.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Okay, well. I'm definitely here to answer questions about
me. Like I said before, we're separate people, even though we do a lot of the
same things, yeah.

Q. Your necklace fell apart today. You didn't. What happened there?

SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, it just fell off at the end. I think I was running
really fast and really hard. It just fell off. It didn't fall apart. God
forbid, I don't want to have to...

Q. Is that from the same jeweler, on loan?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, that jeweler does not want to be named. He would prefer
-- he would prefer not to be named. I don't own a diamond necklace like that.
It's really hot. I really like it.

Q. It's a loner, too?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes.

Q. Will gas prices make you think twice about the Range Rover?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I know. My friend, she's in LA, she said it was $3.75. I
couldn't believe it. I was like, "Oh, my God." You know, it's really
incredible.

Q. I know you've talked about wanting to be a role model, being a role model
with Venus, but do you think athletes of your stature do have a
responsibility when there is some national or international crisis, that
that's kind of part of the job description?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I say that myself and my sister have done a stellar job. I'm
not trying to sit here and pontificate, but we've done a stellar job with
being role models for different athletes, fellow athletes, as well as
children. And just in general I think that we've never been involved in any
crazy happenings. We always keep our minds level. We stay in school to this
day. You know, we do things, always try to be positive, you know, in
communities that we're from, going down to the Venus and Serena Williams
Tennis Academy and different areas, as well.

Q. Was your father's family or anyone from Louisiana affected? Do you know at
all?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, they're from more north.

Q. Shreveport?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Shreveport. My dad says "Lerjiana". He doesn't quite say
Louisiana.

Q. As far as you know, nobody was affected?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, just a lot of rain in that area. For the most part, most
of his family has moved out. But there's still some of his great aunts that
live there, just a few. I know he told me that they weren't -- it was just
real rainy from the outskirts of the hurricane.

Q. In other years at The Open, we've seen you outfitted as a biker chick, a
cat woman. You seem to be playing various roles. Are we going to see you in
another one this year?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I've worn three different outfits thus far this year. I
don't know. I'm trying to think. I'm trying to think of that box candy.
Remember that candy you used to get on the ice cream truck, it was a purple
thing? They're like Lemonheads. They have a purple one called
grape-something. I don't remember. It's in the little box, like the Boston
Bean candy. Anyway, I'm that girl, whatever the name of that box candy is.

Q. Gumdrop girl?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I can't remember. I used to love those things. Gosh, I don't
know. I don't know if you guys had ice cream trucks.

Q. In today's match towards the end, there was a ball that looked like half a
foot past the baseline. I think it was tied 4-4 at that point. It seemed way
out. Did you have a flashback to last year when there were some bad calls?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I try not to have too many flashbacks. You know, I've tried
to change the past, and it doesn't work. If there's things I could do
different, I would, but you can't change the past. You've got to move --
learn from the past so you don't make the same mistakes in the present. Is
that how that saying goes?

Q. Regarding your charitable effort here, have you considered adding a zero
or two to the total?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I've been thinking about it, since I'm not hitting that
many aces (laughter). Although I do have the rest of the year to go. You
know, it's not looking so good. I might have to double it at the end of this
tournament. I'll have to do something. I need to start hitting some more
aces. My donation's going to be embarrassing. I think I was supposed to say
-- they just told me that the designer, Erica Courtney, who designed the
earrings that I absolutely adore, she has family from Lerjiana (smiling), and
she -- her fiancee is from Louisiana, et cetera, but she wants to, along with
me, because we were going to keep them, but she wanted to know if it was okay
if we could donate them to the cause, as well. That will be a lot more than
the aces thus far. I told her that's a great idea, I was willing to do that
as well.

Q. Are you going to auction them?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah, that's pretty -- no, we're just going to give them
away (laughter). "Here, help yourself."

Q. Take them to a pawnshop.

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, we're going to auction them off. We say we're going to
auction them off on the WTA website.

Q. After The Open?

SERENA WILLIAMS: After it's all through, we're going to auction them off and
go from there. That was pretty important information.

Q. How does this woman come to play such a large role? What's the connection?

SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, my stylist pulls a lot of stuff from her. She has
some really interesting things. I always wear her stuff for different photo
shoots and different things. Sometimes she gives me things. Like she was
going to give me these as well, but we thought it would be better to auction
it off and things like that. Necklace is totally separate. It's not the same
designer. Maybe I can talk him into it as well.

Q. Are you doing anything with Jaime Foxx? Your dad said you were going to
hook in with his charitable donations, as well?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I don't know. I'm trying to focus on tennis.
I'm not thinking about any name in Hollywood right now.

Q. Where is the necklace from?

SERENA WILLIAMS: The designer didn't want to be named.

Q. What is that worth?

SERENA WILLIAMS: It's 10 carats. It's worth a pretty penny.

Q. You've had so many matches against Venus, if it does come to pass, how do
you prepare? Do you stop talking to her at a certain time?

SERENA WILLIAMS: When I was winning all the Grand Slams, I poisoned her food
(smiling). I may have to go back and do that again. I put this little special
thing in there to make her not move her feet, not run to the ball, the extra
kind pill.

Q. How much better is she playing now than four or five years ago?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Has it been that long? I don't think -- I think three --
two, three years ago she was playing really awesome, but now she's just
playing unbelievable. I think she's definitely if not at that level,
definitely maybe even a little better. So I don't know. She's playing
unbelievable. I have to be ready.