her opponent, martina hingis, had just defeated serena's sister venus in the semifinals. but serena tells us she defeated a more formidable opponent that day. the voice of self-doubt jane williams. she leads five three. >> then it starts thinking in my head, i'm about to win the u.s. open. oh my god. i remember like, seeing the prize money was $750,000. 1540. and i got in my head a little bit too much. and i kind of just started to crumble. worst ways you can think is thinking, oh, i have this in my pocket. very rare. have i thought that way, consciously. because i know consciously, it's the kiss of death. i cannot go three sets with hingis. i was like, i cannot go three sets with martina hingis. she's going to destroy me in three sets. and by then i was getting tired. >> she's not really forcing the issue, is she, john? she's allowing serena williams to self-destruct. >> then i'm missing shots. then hingis. and i'm like, serena, stop missing. remember when you were a junior? you would just hit lobs and drop shots? don't miss. jane hingis. >> hingis leads six five. >> so

. >> stephen: you beat martina hingis.enus. >> serena: i'm a little vengeful sometimes. >> stephen: two to project that bench fullness at her in any way? did you try to psych or out? >> serena: so many amazing moments in the show. we were at the coin toss. the finals of the u.s. opens, first grand slam final. they toss the coin, who gets to serve first. she won the toss and she said she'll serve first and it was like a knee-jerk reaction. i have such a good return, i have, like i am still in it, right? i have such a good return game. she was like "i'll serve first." i looked at her and i was like "are you sure?" i was like oh, my god, i can't believe i said that but i had already committed. i think i totally startled her because i won the first three games in a row. it was a crazy moment. i never did that again. it was a knee-jerk moment, my natural reaction. >> stephen: we have to take a quick break. we'll be right back with more serena williams, everybody. stick around. ahh, yellow! didn't pass the tissue test? buckle up