AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 22, 2001

Venus Williams

MODERATOR: First question for Venus.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I was really having a tough time on my serve today. I tried to remember everything that my dad has told me. It just didn't work out today. I ended up really just having to hit serves at 150 kilometers to get it in. At the end, I really just went for the gold and got lucky.

VENUS WILLIAMS: She hit a great shot. Not much I can do about that because I went for some myself, but not such great ones. There was nothing I could do about that. It was a good thing that I won the next point.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I've been through a lot of ups and downs in my career. I know how to deal with certain situations. Every now and then it goes against what I've planned. Luckily enough, I was able to pull through.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know, you'll have to ask her if she thinks her shot is as strong as mine. But I think she serves very well out wide, in the deuce court, the ad court, in the corner she serves very well. I have to keep my eyes open for that. I think that's one of her strong points.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think I was a little bit up and down today. In the first set I was really able to stay level. You know, after that, I was up and down. I think she was a little bit, too. I guess we weren't really sure about what we were going to do. I better walk out with a better game plan next time.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I didn't pick them up. He was nice enough to bring them out. I didn't request them.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. Actually, I went out with more than four racquets.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think it's a virtue and then sometimes a snare. If you're too patient, the next person might just step up. If you're not patient enough, then you could make too many errors. So it's a happy medium in between. As long as I'm moving up to my short balls and attacking, making my shots, I'm okay. I think maybe you have to take it to the next person, make it happen more than be patient.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah, definitely.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I guess I ended with two aces. I really thought that, you know, it was actually time for an ace because I hit so many out, that it was bound to go in. Lucky end.

VENUS WILLIAMS: She was definitely a little supportive because I was a little upset in the second set when I was getting down. She said, "Come on, Venus, do your best." That really helped out a lot because I just felt I wasn't playing my best tennis. In the second set I made a lot of errors at random. She was there for me.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Uh-huh, yeah.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I wasn't paying attention to that. When she hit that wonderful backhand down the line, I did hear a roar. I was kind of concentrating on the next point. Most times I'm not really thinking about the crowd - not too much.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, no.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, at the beginning of the game, I was doing okay, coming in like I normally have done, at least since last year, coming to the net. You know, after that, I couldn't get off the baseline. I set camp up. You know, normally I like to come in after the short ball, and I did that okay in the first set. After that, I didn't do it too much.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. I think maybe just moving in after the short balls, just playing consistently, just playing every point, not just looking forward to the next game or the next set, but every point. Naturally, she's a top player. She's in the Top 10. She has a lot of experience. She's looking forward to, you know, capitalizing on this opportunity, getting to the semifinals. I can't take anything for granted.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think so. I think as long as I keep my head on, I'm actually always playing well.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I guess so. If you say so, okay.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, hopefully I'll be at the match. But I think I'll have a match myself. Hopefully, I won't be watching it too close. Hopefully I'll play first and I'll be able to get there, but we'll see.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, not really. I see a lot of the players on TV. I actually pick up on things very quickly, either in the warm-up or in the first one or two games. I think that's just part of being a smart player, really just knowing your opponent.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think she's playing the most consistently at this point. When people get to big matches, people tend to play either a lot better or a lot worse. Hopefully I always play a lot better, and Serena will. I guess Lindsay is playing well. I'm not sure. I haven't seen any of her matches. Seems like Martina has been having some fairly easy ones.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think that it -- I guess sometimes it's a tricky subject. If the tournament makes money, shouldn't the players make money? But yet we do make a pretty good living. So if the tournament, I guess, does better, then the players should, too.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yes, I did.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It was a lot better today. I think the Rebound Ace is a tricky surface maybe. But now I feel cured (laughter). I took the band off.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't have it anymore. My knee was just sore. Really, I woke up this morning, I was up and jumping.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I guess tendonitis, a sore tendon. But usually tendonitis sticks around a while. But it went in a matter of days, five or six days, so I'm really happy about that because I can move a lot faster.