PILOT PEN TENNIS

August 28, 1999

Venus Williams

Q. You got to be pretty pleased with the way you played today?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I played pretty good. I think -- I don't know how many doublefaults I had, but when I did get my first serve if I was serving well and I think toward the second set she started finding I guess some rhythm on the serve which maybe not going for as much a bigger turn just getting it back in play which is a good strategy, a lot of breaks, eventually I was able to pull it out.

VENUS WILLIAMS: To me -- well, I don't know -- I know I can play well and I had wins over both those players previously. So I feel I can go out there and win the matches. But as far as having a win, a tournament win is better than having a tournament loss going into a Grand Slam. That is how I feel.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I am feeling good about playing the big points when it gets to 30-All. When you are not -- when you are serving or when you are not serving I am feeling good about playing those larger points so that is important.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, in the past she just would overpower me. When you are getting overpowered you kind of rush and you make the error, but now it is just -- it is not the same anymore. I am not as young and I have better techniques, so things aren't the same anymore. I don't feel overpowered when I play her.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Me going out there and working hard and improving. I really -- I worked hard for all of December, before the year started. It wasn't enough. Actually I was -- I had to go work hard for another two, three weeks before I was really able to get back on my game. So it was really a lot of work.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Definitely. I have been ready and I was ready for the first one, first one I played.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It didn't seem -- I guess it wasn't the right time. Just waiting for that right time and hopefully this will be the right time, but if it's not the right time next time will be the right time.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I if I didn't feel I had a chance to win I can go home and get a lot of other things done. I don't feel the pressure. It is just a game, I enjoy playing it. This is what I want to do right now. And if I don't do my best, I have another chance. If I don't do as well, just go out and work a little harder. But you have to take it all in stride.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I am not sure about the other athletes. Sports is so competitive these days, so everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie. I have little bit, but not any of the Grand Slam titles yet. I guess that is the cake.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Me, Serena, Lindsay and Hingis.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It seems like the most likely place. Both of us -- all four of us are going to be on top of our games. I am going to rally Serena up. She is going to rally me up. We are going to get ourselves going. Some reason I fall by the wayside, I am going to really pushing behind her, Serena don't do like me; likewise. So just as long as it is good tennis, I think that is the most important thing.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Come on, Serena, please don't hit that ball flat. Get under it, un-der. Things like that. So if I am doing well, she is doing well, it is like the same thing, both of us have a win.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think in the past I was a little less experienced and people could pull tricks on me or I would actually start rushing, things like that. Not that I didn't think I could win. I just wasn't able to make the right decisions in order to win. I think this year I have done a little better with that, especially in the latter part of the year.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, because those good holds are pretty well. It is great when you win them, but you feel it more when you lose them. That is how it is. I guess when she lost that she didn't feel as great as I did when I won that game. So it is important to try to hold serves and to get the first set under your belt. Because the other player feels a little bit more pressure to stay in the match. I know I have been in those situations a lot of times, lost the first set, so I was at the advantage.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I never get frustrated as a player. I just feel like, okay, I have to get the next opportunity. I am never -- I wouldn't say maybe once or twice in my career I have been kind of upset. Yeah. And I guess everyone knew. I don't really get frustrated. I just feel like, okay, I lost serve I have to break, so finally at 5-4 couldn't believe I kept losing serve like that. I wasn't serving too badly. She was returning much better; then I would kind of make an error which is not too logical to say the least, but I wasn't frustrated.

VENUS WILLIAMS: That happened the last match too the second set I lost my serve, but you just have to break back. I returned serves very well and I get quite a few balls on the run so I had a lot of things to work with besides my serve. I felt I would to have break back; I kept breaking back and she kept breaking back.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I was just losing racket speed a lot on my forehand. She kept getting to it and trying to get that error; sometimes I was giving it to her. So at that point I said I am going to keep my racket speed and just hit the ball. I managed to get those next two points and then the match.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I am not too sure. I haven't been to too many men's tournaments. I guess the men's game is a little bit more less rallies, I would say. The ladies everyone is kind of fighting each other, slugging it out and it is still quite a lot of pace and I know I hit the ball hard, Lindsay does. Last night playing Monica it was a quick game, boom, boom, boom. So I think there is enough consistency, enough power and just enough of everything to kind of make it real interesting and very intense for the fans.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I am not sure how she is feeling about playing against me. What is most important is I am prepared to play against whoever I play and know that they most likely will want to win so I have to be ready to pull the win for myself.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I have played Lindsay quite a few times and in the last year -- this year we are two and two. Other years it was not too good for me. I was young; didn't understand too much and I would say with Hingis the first year in 1997 when I first got on the Tour she got three wins. After that it has been pretty even. Unless I kind of start playing bad and making bad decisions.

VENUS WILLIAMS: If he likes it, I love it.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I just had a bad record with Davenport in the past. I guess right now looking at the record I am still at a disadvantage. This year I am doing good. I was just -- in the past I was just overpowered and now things are different. I have gotten older, stronger, I have gotten better, so I would say she is a player that has the most wins over me.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, a match like this is very important. I am trying to be focused on every point. I want every point for myself. Pretty selfish out there. But as for her, I am not playing tennis, I am not competing with anyone in this room. So it is different.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't understand the question.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, not at all. I don't think so. I think it just gets a little bit fatiguing doing interviews. I have been doing interviews since I was little, 11, 12 now it is kind of gaining on me. It is like the same questions. These interviews are more better the press conference, but one-on-ones they just get like the same question. I don't understand why they need to ask me the question. They can get it from another article. That is how I feel. Please, ask different questions.

VENUS WILLIAMS: So Venus, when is the last time you have been to Dunkin Donuts.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Only reason I haven't been lately is because I have been overseas and then I haven't been home so much or else driving by I might make that lefthand turn and it gets pretty tough.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I really have an outrageous dress. It is really going to be tough on me to get in it. And I am really -- actually what I need to do is just put it on and start wearing it now and getting comfortable with it. Unfortunately it is my own design, it is my own fault, but I never -- I never thought they would pick that one. I thought they'd pick another one because I submited at least 15 designs. Before I knew it, I have to be in it.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I need to just get on the practice court at the US Open and just start practicing in it so I can get comfortable with the feeling. It is -- yeah.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It just only has one sleeve and -- but it is lycra and it is going to stay up. But then it has a cut out right here also. So for me it was just kind of just experimenting with the design, but before I knew it was in production. Now I love it. But it is really just daring.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, it is for the Open: I like my dresses now. I kind of like the one I had on today that didn't even come together, but I can just mix and match I have so many different colors, it is great.

VENUS WILLIAMS: We don't watch that match. We played so bad. I was playing some of my worse tennis. She played even worse. We just don't watch it. We will get pretty sick to our stomachs.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Glitter. It was like a 50 cent store piece and every one loves it. I don't know.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Wow. Thanks.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Thank you very much. Thanks.