Underneath, there's a plaque noting that Williams was the 1999 and 2002 champion at Flushing Meadows.
A tad intimidating for the three other women left in tournament?
That picture is, after all, a reminder that Williams not only has won the U.S. Open but a total of eight Grand Slam singles titles. The other semifinalists - Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina - have never won one.
"They know Serena has those big moments, that she's won those championships and knows what it takes,'' 1979 and 1981 U.S. Open champion Tracy Austin said. "They haven't done that yet.''
Williams is 11-2 in major semifinals; Jankovic, Dementieva and Safina are a combined 3-7.
Williams has spent 57 weeks ranked No. 1, a perch she could reclaim by winning the U.S. Open. Jankovic, Dementieva and Safina also have a chance to lead the rankings at tournament's end. But so far, that trio can boast of a collective one week at No. 1, by Jankovic last month.
Heading into Friday's semifinals - when the No. 4-seeded Williams plays No. 6 Safina, and No. 2 Jankovic plays No. 5 Dementieva - Williams has been the most dominant here, losing only 26 games through five matches. She dropped 12 of those in the quarterfinals, when she beat older sister Venus 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7) Wednesday night.
"I mean, I feel like I should have a trophy now,'' Serena said after beating the only other Grand Slam title winner remaining in the field. "Unfortunately I don't, and I've got to go to the next round.''
Next up is Safina, who's been playing the best tennis of her career of late.
The younger sister of 2000 U.S. Open champion Marat Safin reached the final at six of her previous seven events, including three titles and runner-up showings at the French Open and the Beijing Olympics.
That stretch of success includes Safina's only victory over the younger Williams in four career meetings, a three-set triumph on clay at Berlin, Germany, in May. While that result might inspire confidence in Safina, she is well aware what she's up against.
"She moves very good, and she can hit the ball from any position on the court very hard,'' Safina said. "With her, you really have to be focused until ... the ball bounces two times or she misses or you hit clearly a winner. So that's why, with her, you know, you have to be alert every time.''
At 22, Safina is the youngest semifinalist. She's also been this far at major tournaments the fewest times, just once.
Not that experience necessarily guarantees good performances, of course. Jankovic, for example, goes into her match against Dementieva with an 0-4 record in Grand Slam semifinals.
One of those setbacks came in the 2006 U.S. Open, when Jankovic was five points from victory against Justine Henin before falling apart after a long argument with the chair umpire. Henin, like Williams a two-time champion in New York, is retired now, and Maria Sharapova is sidelined with a shoulder injury, leaving things more open for other women.
Those absences eased the paths for the women who are left and are part of the reason that everyone still in the tournament has a shot at No. 1.
"There is no No. 1, you know, for the moment - real No. 1 - because, well, I don't know,'' said Dementieva, the 2004 runner-up at the U.S. Open and French Open and the singles gold medalist at the Beijing Olympics. "Maybe the competition is too tough.''
Maybe.
But Williams is convinced they'll have to update that plaque below her picture outside the locker room here. She's sure she'll soon be holding another silver trophy and enjoying another stay at the rankings summit.
"Honestly, I really would just like to win the tournament - with or without the ranking,'' Williams said. "Believe me, I'm going to be No. 1, sooner or later.''
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