WIMBLEDON

June 28, 2005

Venus Williams

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please, for Venus Williams.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It was a tough tiebreak, it really was. It was a tough second set. I played really well in the first set. I think she played well, too, but maybe she just wasn't expecting me to play as well as I did. I had quite a few set points against me. To pull that out and not have to go to the third is really good. And, plus, she was playing unbelievable. I mean that could have been a finals match, how well she played.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think this was definitely a good match for me going into that match because they're both two hard-hitters. And I think that was good preparation.

VENUS WILLIAMS: She definitely strikes the ball well, is a very determined player. Just a good player all around.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, like I said, I was okay with the seeding from the get-go. What was the other part of your question?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think so. I definitely raised my game. I think in the first week I didn't get to hit a lot of balls also, and that was a good thing. I'm just looking forward to raising my game in this next round.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm always playing well, to be quite honest. I lost a lot of points in the clay court season. I couldn't go to some tournaments to defend points, so I fell out of the Top 10 because of that, too. Then I didn't play that great at the French. This is really my normal ranking.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm always playing well.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It was a tough tiebreak. I was hitting like a lot of great shots and hard shots. I wasn't just moon-balling the ball over. She was hitting some winners out of nowhere. She just really had picked up the level of her game. And after facing five set points or what have you, that was just a great win.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Probably yesterday in the mixed doubles match (laughter). I was very happy then. I actually think playing the mixed is good for me because I got to hit a lot of returns. We had a really tough match yesterday, so I felt like I just kept it going from there because we had such a fight. But today I was ready for that. So I think it was definitely a blessing.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't think too much that I didn't already know.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yes, for sure.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Huh-uh. Why do you say that?

VENUS WILLIAMS: The thing is, I'm a professional tennis player, so I'm ready to play however many rounds a tournament is. This is pretty normal for me.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Everything all in good time. I have a couple matches left and I'm not looking ahead. It's pretty tough to be No. 1. I never was one to play a million events, too. So we'll see.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't think my serves were that conservative. I definitely went for a lot of Ts today. I felt that was a good one today. And a lot of it just depends on where your opponent positions himself in their returning. A lot of that will tell you where you need to serve. So today I just felt it was what I needed to do.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Uhm, I actually had like a shoulder problem after Fed Cup. Once I got to the French Open, I hadn't hit my serve a lot, and I just couldn't. Just hadn't had enough practice. I couldn't get it in. Since that time I've been okay. I'm really practicing. For me it's just all about being in sync and in rhythm. So I kind of remind myself if I'm missing a few just to stay in sync.

VENUS WILLIAMS: How does it change? I guess less nonsense (laughter). It's not the same, that's for sure. But most of the time we always are together.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Tennis is pretty much up there for me.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Pretty much up there.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm just really blessed to be as tall as I am and be able to move. I don't know how that happened. That's a good blessing. I'm always working hard. I always work hard. I can't do anything else. But it's my personality, so that's why I'm fit.

VENUS WILLIAMS: For sure, or else I wouldn't have played the mixed doubles. I couldn't have played any doubles at the Australian at all. It's really hard on my stomach. I can't serve that much. Even now I'm monitoring how much I do. I can't play too many matches or else I kind of break down.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think condition is extremely important because the last thing you need out there in a match is to have to choose which ball you're going to run for because you're tired, you're tired and can't concentrate on the point because you can't breathe, or your legs burn. That is no way to be. So it's definitely an important factor because it's something else that you don't have to think about out there.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I'm fine, but I can't play a lot. I can't play two and three matches or like so many matches in a row. It's kind of tough for me.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I guess that's what it is. I've tried telling myself, too, that it doesn't hurt. And sometimes that works, but not always.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I had to do it, definitely, because I would have never wanted to look back and say, "Maybe I could have." And I came quite close actually. And I'm okay with the decision.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know that story.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know. I just said I don't know the story. It may have happened. I don't know.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't remember.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm always happy. I have a good life.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think if the second set score would have been 6-3, it would have been a little bit different. But that was a very tough tiebreak because she didn't give me an inch. So I had to kind of take whatever I could. Obviously, she was doing the same thing on her side of the net. I think that was -- I think the whole part of it, that was just a very tough match.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Never entered my mind, to be honest, never. I feel like I deserve to be in the semifinal. Just take it from here.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, not at all.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It's the talk of the fortnight, huh? Like I said, I was okay with it. Whoever I go out on the court against, I feel like there's a very good chance that I'm going to win as long as I play well.

VENUS WILLIAMS: What motivates me is in the morning if I don't go to practice, I start to get very nervous because I know if I don't go to practice, I'm not going to play well. So when I don't show up, I think me I dad gets a little bit upset. Whenever I do come over, he's happy to see me, so he doesn't say anything.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm like a zombie. I can't wake up in the morning. But I hate to go to bed at night. And I need at least eight hours of sleep. Sometimes I just don't get up. I just watch the Golden Girls. But most of the time I do get up. But there are some days when I take it slow.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, it takes a lot to be your best every time. A lot of players usually come out against me playing quite well, swinging. Really it's just all about doing it every time. I suppose every time I wasn't able to always.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I definitely feel the field has improved a lot. But I also know when I play my best that, you know, I feel like I'm still a step ahead, for sure.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Don't ask me anything for Serena, please. She has to answer that.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think that was Serena's third tournament after her surgery, and that was an unbelievable achievement to be in the final. Also she was off the whole tournament, too. It's tough to come back and play at that same level without playing a few events. And she really had a major achievement to get to that final. She just didn't play well. Maria did play very well, and it takes a lot to win a Wimbledon final. But Serena wasn't able to put up a lot of resistance that day. I think if she could have played 10, 15% better, I think it probably would have been a different story. But that's the past.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm sure she's playing well. You have to play well to be in a Wimbledon semifinal.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think it's a combination of everything, against any player. I think I have both of those because I run a lot of balls down. When I get to them, I'm usually able to put a lot on them, too. And, to be honest, anyone's who's winning the big matches, they step up and play aggressively, so... A little bit of both.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think I've played my best like once or two matches in my whole career. It's hard to get there, to that level. Sometimes when you play your best, you get a little too confident, overconfident, and that's not good either.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think sometimes you get too confident. Sometimes you underestimate your opponent. You kind of go down. So I try to -- of course, I'm always feeling confident, but at the same time it's important to stay focused, be in there.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think I'm just competing well today. We had some long rallies and some tough shots. She just kept raising the level of her game. Obviously, her results count for how well she's playing. So I just kept returning the shots back. I just started to get very used to being in those long rallies.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I remember I won the first set. Well, I remember I won the semifinal, and I was going back in the car. I said, "Wow, I'm going to win this." I just knew it. That was my whole plan before the tournament, that I had to win. I knew I was going to do it. I just remember I was serving for 5-4 in the second, and I lost. I was like, "Oh, no, Venus, you can't do it like this." But somehow I guess I won and stayed in there. I don't remember everything play-by-play. Each year is different. Each year takes a little something different.