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PILOT PEN TENNIS

August 27, 1999

Venus Williams

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

Q. Came out pretty good?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I was playing pretty good. I guess I could say that.

Q. Why was it so easy?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I have been playing pretty good for the whole week and preparing myself for the latter rounds of this tournament and for next week. So served well, which is a plus no matter who you are playing; always makes a match much easier.

Q. Feel like your game is right with your want it to be going into the Open?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I definitely would like to play better. I would like to play a little bit better off the ground; keep my ball a little bit deeper. I feel like I am rushing a little bit; just want to slow down mostly concentrate on my stroke.

Q. If you were to use a percentage basis, how many more percentage points would you want to improve?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know. As far as percentage that is a tough question.

Q. What do you do to try to make yourself go slower when you are on the court and there is so much going on?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Most of all I just try to take longer strokes and I try to instead of just -- if someone hits the ball fast, you try to hit it back faster instead you take your time; place it where you want it to be in. That is what I will make sure I am going to do tomorrow.

Q. You seemed to take something off the ball now and then?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I did sometimes. It is a good thing at times. Monica is a good stroker of the ball. That is her main strength. That is how she likes to play. As for me, I can play quite a few different ways.

Q. When are you going to learn to serve and volley more like you do in doubles?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know. Really. Doesn't seem to be in me, not right now. I guess at least coming in a little bit more is a step. Serve and volleying, that is the future.

Q. Against Lindsay what are you going to have to do?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think some of the same things tonight just serve well, return well, and I am really into attacking second serves these days. It is pretty much in fashion. Just take my time because she is going to play some good tennis. She improved the level of her game, but so have I; that is what I have to do.

Q. Third time in a month that you are going to be playing her. It is one a piece. From the last time when you beat her, what more do you have to do? Is it going to be generally the same sort of level as you played the last time in California?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I played okay there. I didn't play my best there. I really wasn't serving well. Wasn't getting too many first serves. I was living off a second which is not that easy. So I am going to definitely get more first serves in and I am serving better. The serving feels better. I went out and worked on it and so that is definitely something that I'd like to do better as far as from the last time I played her in San Diego.

Q. You enjoy tonight, nice crowd out there, pretty good energy. Feed off of that a little bit?

VENUS WILLIAMS: That is always nice especially when Monica plays she is going to have a lot of fans, people love her. She is a great champion. So -- and me, I am pretty young out there, just trying to get a couple of things for myself, so it is definitely great when the crowd is into it because when the crowd is quiet, it kind of feels like you are -- don't even feel like you are in practice. When you are in practice you feel intensity, but when the crowd is quiet when you are playing a match it kind of feels dead, so it is a better when they are really into it.

Q. You just came into the match confident and kind of stayed confident through the whole match; seemed like even like she had you at breakpoint and in the second set you came back and won the game. You just kind of seemed to be on a roll.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I did lose serve in the second set once. I am working on that because you need to hold serve at those important times, especially against the top players because if you give them the opportunity a lot of times they are going to come back. Just like I would. So she had some opportunities against my serve, but I actually hit some nice big first serves because I said okay, now you know what to do on these serves, so go ahead and do it, get a free point, get it back to deuce so I was able to do that most times.

Q. There were times when you could see the frustration on Monica's face after she thought she had hit a winner. Do you feel like you are just in a groove right now that everything is just going your way?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Not that I really feel like I am in a groove. I just feel like -- I am just trying to just be more -- not more serious, but just going out there and actually just playing tennis and not making mistakes, or holding back, mostly I want to go out there and strike the ball and do what I have been taught to do. That is how I feel, that I am trying to actually do those things.

Q. You feel at this point it is easier to accomplish those things?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I guess so. I am just trying to look at it as a game and just go out there and just enjoy the competition. When you look at it like that, it is easier instead of: Oh, I have to win, I have to win. That is not any good.

Q. Monica was 19, 20; she is doing pretty well now, but she was an incredible player. Did you watch her growing up at all and marvel at the way she played?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, most certainly. I was there when she played all those French Open Finals and when she really had everything on her side and I was about 10, 1990, 1989 I was 9 and 10, and 11, so my sister and my dad and I, we would watch the films and tape and we were just trying to learn to be better so, I remember all of that.

Q. Now that you are playing her, how does that feel?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't think about it really, but now that you say it, I have come along way.

Q. It was clear that you were in a zone tonight that we haven't seen and you have progressed as the week has progressed. Wednesday night you even mentioned seems that sometimes you play at the level of your opponent, you try and shake that sometimes, especially when the opponents is not there. Tonight you didn't have to worry about that. Monica is going to be Monica. Tomorrow night or tomorrow afternoon when you go against Lindsay is there another notch that you have to raise it?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Actually I want to raise the level in my game no matter who I am playing, but definitely against Lindsay she is going to want to win this title. She didn't win last year and going into the Open with a title is a pretty good feeling. I am going to definitely raise the level of my game the best that I know how.

Q. Women's sports is really receiving a lot of attention. How does it feel to be involved?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I feel pretty good. I think women's tennis is the most recognized women's sport all over the world, especially players no matter where you go, people know who you are. So it is a good thing. It is definitely a good thing.

End of FastScripts....

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