Say, that was some Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde performance submitted by Serena Williams at the U.S. Open Saturday night, yeah?

First she went Chernobyl on the lineswoman who called a foot fault on Williams’s second serve at 15-30 in the second set (with Kim Clijsters up a set and and 5-4), which made it 15-40, except Williams was hit with a code violation for her profanity-spewing meltdown which was her second code violation, since she  broke her racquet after  losing the first set, so that meant she was penalized a point which happened to be match point.

Which happened to mean she lost the match.

But in the post-match press conference, Williams turned into Chauncey Gardner, all oblivious to what had just transpired on the tennis court.

I’m with Mary Carillo: Williams should either get anger management therapy, or an Oscar.

UPDATE: If Serena Williams’s statement about her U.S. Open meltdown Friday night is the best she can do, Williams needs some PR people who’ll tell her either to stand up or shut up.

Here’s her statement, as reported by the New York Times:

“Last night, everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job,” the statement said. “Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don’t agree with the unfair line call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me, and as a result handled the situation poorly.

“I would like to thank my fans and supporters for understanding that I am human, and I look forward to continuing the journey, both professionally and personally, with you all as I move forward and grow from this experience.”

That non-apology is not only pathetically egotistical, it’s also insulting to anyone who’s ever rooted for Serena Williams.

Maybe you should go away for awhile, girlfriend.

UPDATE UPDATE: On Monday, right before she played in the U.S. Open women’s doubles final that she should have been disqualified for, Serena Williams issued an actual apology (via Bloomberg) for her thuggish behavior in the women’s semifinal:

I want to sincerely apologize first to the lineswoman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA and mostly tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst. I’m a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I’m wrong.

Yeah – sometimes it just takes a second serve.