US OPEN

August 31, 1999

Serena Williams

Q. That looked like that went pretty quick.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it was.

SERENA WILLIAMS: You never anticipate a match to be that quick. You just go out and try to do your best and stay focused as much as you can.

SERENA WILLIAMS: They are really fast, actually. Deep balls that come really fast. They are really fast courts.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't care. I'm just ready to go either way.

SERENA WILLIAMS: There's a lot more African American people coming out and watching our matches, and matches, period. It's definitely becoming more of a universal sport. That's really great.

SERENA WILLIAMS: That would be really exciting, because either way, one of us would be able to win our first Grand Slam. I'm six matches away.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Not really. We hit together a lot and we practice together. We don't really compliment each other. We play left-handed sometimes and that's it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: In case she reads the paper, I'm not going to tell you. (Laughter.)

SERENA WILLIAMS: It's tough to say. We would be split all the time. At first, I was winning a lot, and then she won a few; so, we're kind of even. No one can slice my backhand; I can't hit it.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I was definitely disappointed when I heard. At first, I didn't believe it myself because I thought it was a joke. And to be quite honest, my heart missed a beat when I heard he pulled out. I was very, very disappointed.

SERENA WILLIAMS: When I am on my game, nobody can beat me, and I think it's impossible for anyone to have a chance against me when I'm playing my best.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Anyone.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I would. I definitely would. I'm sure she would; so, that would be a very good match.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I'm not sure.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't think I saw him there, but I'm sure he was somewhere watching. My dad, he does a great deal with us during practice -- in practice he's done all he can do; so it's up to us out there in the match. He's been coaching us all of our lives; so, it's up to us now.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I did a few, but they didn't want to use my designs. (Laughter.)

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I'm going to try to get some better designs. I think they are really nice, myself, but I'll get some better ones. I'll design some more.

SERENA WILLIAMS: The score was pretty surprising, I guess, because I played her before and I lost. I was really young then. I think I was 15 or 16. It was when I first came out; so, I knew that she was a pretty good player and had beaten me before and it was going to be a good match. So I guess I kind of dominated today. I returned very well. I don't think I played that great, but I was really returning well and I was serving okay. Other than that, I could use a lot of work with this tournament.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Wilson definitely makes the best racquets. We used Wilson when we were younger. When we lived in California we were like eight, nine that age. They are the best for me. They really make a great product. I like to use a lot of power. The racquet I use is really light, and I can get an unbelievable amount of power on the ball. It really suits me and my body and I really love those.

SERENA WILLIAMS: We worked really close for 18 months trying to get the perfect racquet for me and what suited me best.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, yes, it's definitely we're working on getting one out for juniors, like the little junior racquets for kids, and little ones also. I'm really excited. It's going to be really cool. I think I'll get one myself.

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