[Exerting pressure from the opening game, Pierce drove the ball deep with her forehand. She is supremely confident in her game and her life, and thinks she has tennis in perspective.] It's all great and this is what I love to do, and I feel like God has blessed me with this gift, ... At the same time, there are lots of things going on in this world. The last hurricane down south, there's people struggling with their lives . . . I'm very excited and happy to be in the semifinals. It's part of my life, but it's not everything.

Mary Pierce