NEW YORK (AP) Victoria Azarenka started her answer before the question was even finished.
Asked about a potential third-round matchup against Serena Williams at the U.S. Open, the fourth-seeded Azarenka said: ``I'm not interested about that before I go out there.''
Then she added with a smile, ``We'll talk about it later, maybe.''
Azarenka beat 60th-ranked Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-1, 6-3 on Tuesday to reach the second round, where she'll face Gisela Dulko.
If she wins that match and Williams advances, too, then Azarenka will talk about her unusual situation as a top-five player drawn against a 13-time major champion in an early round.
Azarenka had another odd distinction this year: In seven consecutive tournaments, she lost to the eventual champion, including a semifinal defeat against Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon and a quarterfinal exit against Li Na at the French Open.
``To win those titles, you have to beat the best players,'' said Azarenka, who is seeking her first major championship.
SLOW COURTS: Roger Federer is among a handful of players talking about noticing slower playing conditions at the U.S. Open this year.
The U.S. Tennis Association acknowledges those players are right - but it wasn't done on purpose, and things should speed up as the tournament continues.
``The court surface at the 2011 U.S. Open is the same as the last several years. The courts were resurfaced in August, as usual, but due to adverse weather in the area, they have not been played on as much as in years past nor have they been power-washed as often. Both of these factors have resulted in the courts playing a little slower than usual,'' the USTA said in a statement issued Tuesday.
``We expect the court surface to speed up as the courts get more play throughout the tournament as they traditionally have,'' the statement added.
After winning his first-round match Monday night, Federer wondered aloud whether it would be better for the sport if the courts were quicker at Flushing Meadows.
The issue for me more is: Maybe did they make a mistake? Maybe they did paint the court a bit too rough. It's just unfortunate, I think, that maybe all the Slams are too equal,'' the 16-time major champion said.I think they should feel very different to the Australian Open, and now I don't feel it really does.''
UNDERSERVED: Fortunately for Francesca Schiavone, her return game was working better than her serve.
The seventh-seeded Italian had four double-faults in trying to serve out the match in the third set against qualifier Galina Voskoboeva. Then she promptly broke Voskoboeva's serve to clinch a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 victory.
I didn't say, 'I don't want to serve anymore,''' she said.I thought, 'That's OK. Now I have to think to return at the best, to come back to push. Otherwise I can't win.'''
Schiavone had 16 double-faults Tuesday and got just half of her first serves in.
The 2010 French Open champion and runner-up this year, Schiavone said she couldn't recall ever double-faulting that much.