US OPEN

September 3, 2000

Venus Williams

MODERATOR: Questions for Venus.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It was pretty disappointing because that doubles match was put off until tomorrow. This is my third late day in a row.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Nothing. I ate a lot. Well, not too much. At first I didn't eat very much. As the hours went on, I thought maybe I should start eating for fear that I would run out of energy, although that's never happened. Anything can happen for a first time.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. No, I never said anything about hoping.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I've had three late days in a row now; a night match, last night we didn't play until very late, today not until 6:00. I was hoping to play doubles today, but now I have to play tomorrow. It's like I can never get away from this place.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I liked actually the other night. In the first couple of rounds, I didn't feel I was playing very well, but I was happy actually to get a nice match. She actually came out and played very well. I feel very warmed up now. I feel more in a groove and more ready to compete.

VENUS WILLIAMS: For me it was pretty easy. I hadn't started my match. A couple of guys had to stop right in the middle of the tiebreak. It has to be really tough. The only bad thing is that my whole day is gone. That's okay. I'm here to play tennis anyway.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, not at all. It just would have been nice if we would have been in the quarterfinals already. That would have been nice to have a few days not to play doubles every day.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm going to try. That's why I'm here right now.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I just sat down. I watched this match between Steffi and Navratilova, '86. It was a pretty tough match. Both of them had match points, so one of them had to lose. When you lose when you've had a match point, it's very disappointing. I was just watching matches. The time passed by pretty quickly. It was tough to believe it was already 5:00. But it happened.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I'm feeling a lot more clear on my serve. Especially in doubles, it's actually great to play doubles because you're working on your serve and your return. Yesterday when we were playing, I was working on my serve a lot. Today it was a lot more effective. Also, the pace on my second serve also. Most times it was at 90 or 92. If I'm hitting it like that, I can hit it exactly where I want to.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Not really. I feel a little bit like I'm rushing. I want to feel like I'm in the rally and I know I'm going to win the rally, not like I have to rush through it. Doesn't matter how many balls I have to hit, I want to be able to stay out there.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think that back in the '70s Billie Jean King did it the right way. Right now I'm just really focusing on trying to win this US Open more than anything, just have a good result here, just competing with the women. At some later date, I'll be ready to think about competing with men. At this point I'm ready to just play The Open.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I feel like I deserve to be No. 1. I think somewhat this is the most fun part of tennis, when you see yourself moving ahead, you're working hard, getting the results. Back when I was 200, it was just nice to go to 110, 86. This is the most fun part, and maybe the most difficult, because you have to play more consistently. I'm a couple thousand points behind the No. 1 player at this point, but that's okay. I'm moving forward the best I can.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I never received a telegram. It was just a rumor. If a telegram did come, I didn't receive it. Yes, I have talked to her. I don't really know her. I'm Venus Williams, she's Althea Gibson. The only thing we have in common is that we both played tennis. I mean, that's like you talking to, you know, someone from Italy years ago. I mean, I don't know her. I don't know her.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. I didn't really take notice until someone in the press told me at a press conference. But this is real nice, to have a streak like this. Has never been one of my goals to have a winning streak, so this is nice.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, he's a good person. He tries hard. I think her dad wants the best for her also. You never know what's happening. I don't know. I wasn't there. I know just as much as you know possibly because y'all wrote it and I read what you wrote. But I think he wants the best for his daughter and they seem to get on well together. So I don't know. I know I get along with my dad very well. That's all I have to say.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think this time it will be a little bit different, that's all.