New York—Venus and Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Lindsay Davenport, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, and Novak Djokovic were just some of the players who participated in Arthur Ashe Kids' Day presented by Hess, the entertainment/tennis festival and benefit. A handful of players put in some time with the media during pre-tournament press conferences in the U.S. Open Media Center.

Here are some highlights:

Serena Williams on whether a person is born with the drive to win or develops it: "I think it's something that's definitely innate; some things you're born with and some things you're not. I don't know what I was born with, I just do know that I enjoy competition and I enjoy my job more than anything. I have so much fun out there that it makes it easy for me."

Federer, having won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with Stanislas Wawrinka, on whether playing doubles benefits his singles game: I think it does help my singles play a little bit, you know, just the returns and coming in, serve and volleying a little bit, just the reaction at the net, all these things. It does sharpen you up a little bit, but still, at the same time, I really don't want to have any things that disturb me during a Grand Slam, such as doubles. I'm going to purely always concentrate on the singles, and maybe doubles in a lead-up tournament to a Grand Slam maybe."

Andy Roddick on Federer's chances to defend his U.S. Open singles crown: "I think he's got as good a shot as anybody. I think it's tough to play perfect for five years in a row…It's a tough situation when you feel like you've made 17 straigt semifinals in Slams or whatever it is now, and if you're not thinking about it, being asked about it every day, it's bound to go into your head a little bit. I know pretty much every player—except for one—that would take his bad year. So I think you have to use a little bit of perspective. He's created a bit of a monster for himself."