NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 29, 2004

Venus Williams

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think overall my game was better tonight. I would have liked to have a higher first serve percentage, but my second serve was effective. I feel like whenever I needed to really put pressure with my serve, I would do that. That was good. I was playing for sure a really good player. She's very consistent. She's a fighter. She never says die. That was good for me to get out there and really make a point of getting through that match.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, great, great. I think that I got a lot of short balls today so I came in on them. I was doing well at the net. I felt good at the net. I've been practicing my volleys. That was that (smiling).

VENUS WILLIAMS: I always get messages from her, e-mails. She's so sweet. She's such a role model. Such a great coach. Of course she's always saying, "Get in there, get in there." I'm hearing the same thing, of course, from my dad. I suppose I can't give up on a baseline game.

VENUS WILLIAMS: For sure, for sure. I've got to go.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, great, great. I felt like I made less errors. I think I could have made even less errors than that. There were a few games where I did make a few errors. I had to realize that and then kind of rein myself back in.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I have to take risks. That's my game. Any time I try to get involved in playing safe, that's foreign for me. That's not my game, that's not my style. I don't succeed that way. For me, it's about taking risks in a controlled manner. As long as I'm playing my game, I'm fine.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Different?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Not really. Pretty much the same regimen, just hope and pray not to be injured in the near future.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, always the same thing. My dad's really technical. But he was happy in today's match. He said, "Is that Venus? Is that Venus? I don't know that Venus." So that was nice (smiling).

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Which ones?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Gold?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Are those mine? She said they were mine?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Lyn. Lyn gave those to her, yeah.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yes.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, those are Lyn's -- like Lyn and I, we both wear long, dangly earrings. They weren't mine. They looked good on court.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, there was Lyn, Isha. Isha left, and she's coming back tomorrow. Lyn's still here, so all of us are pretty much here by tomorrow.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm ready. I'm ready, yeah. With each match I'm looking forward to succeeding in everything that I try, and you know, of course get out there and play well.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I play my guitar, work on my chords and everything else. Music theory. But I kind of want to go to the shops. I haven't had a chance to. I've had a match every day or some kind of rain or some kind of nonsense. So I'm working on it, spreading my wings and getting to the shops.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Let's do that (smiling).

VENUS WILLIAMS: I like everything. My teacher gives me songs and then I end up making up my own things, too.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Not very often. So when I do, I go and get the crash course.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Not confident enough, no. Good enough, yes. Confident, no (laughing)