U.S. Open: Serena Williams on ’09 blowup: ‘I don’t think about’

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Because her pre-U.S. Open news conference was postponed by the oncoming Hurricane Irene on Saturday, Serena Williams stopped by the media room Monday to speak.

It is the first time Williams, a four-time champion here, has returned to the Open since her famous blowup with a lineswoman who had called her for a critical foot fault in a semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters in 2009. Williams missed last year’s tournament with a foot injury, the health consequences of which cost her nearly a year of tennis, and when the inevitable question was asked about her memories of her unseemly exit Williams fell back on a mixture of sarcasm and humor.

‘I remember I lost and that was that. I got really popular. A lot of people were telling me they thought I was super cool, that they’d never seen me so intense. So, yeah, it was awesome.’

And when she was asked if she’d learned anything from the incident, Williams answered, ‘I don’t think about it. Are you still thinking about it? That was like two years ago. This is, like, two years later.’

So Williams does have her dates straight. Next up, some tennis, probably on Tuesday.

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-- Diane Pucin in New York