US OPEN

August 31, 2005

Venus Williams

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Venus.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, it was deathly windy.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Deathly windy. Didn't choose a direction. It was just swirling at random. I think it may have gotten worse. I don't know. It was pretty tough to start out with. You know, those conditions, at least I did, tried to add more spin, take some off the serve, try to get the first serve in, you know, those kinds of things. Not go for too much, but of course still play the right shots, try to move forward and be aggressive.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Maybe. I feel like I'm trying to step it up, I will. I feel like I can get the best out of me. The points even today, when they got tighter, she rushed me or attacked me, my game goes up to that next level. I'm feeling pretty confident in my ability to compete.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think it's riding from the 20-odd years of work. Make that 21 of non-stop tennis. I think it's just experience and knowing what it takes.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think the wind was definitely a test today. It's easy to fumble and easy to self-destruct in those kind of conditions. Obviously, my first-round match I played a little gritty girl. She tried to take it to me, but I was able to stand my ground. You know, you never know when it's your day to go down. I never underestimate anyone. I try to definitely bring the same leave of game out - I try to. Of course, I feel like I get better and better with each round.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It was tough. It was sad. I'd like to see an American win this. He obviously had a great chance. But it happens. It does. That's sports. The best part is that he'll have another chance very soon.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't think anyone takes anyone for granted on either tour any longer, that's for sure. There are going to be days when you get outplayed, there are. It's usually not going to be every day, but it's sometimes going to be the very day you don't want it to be.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I was flipping back and forth.

VENUS WILLIAMS: The '70s show, The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince.

VENUS WILLIAMS: When the Marlins were winning, I was majorly into it. I actually still do very much like baseball. Between all those shows, it's tough.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think till they take them off the air. During the daytime I don't watch TV. My schedule is so intermittent, I'm never home. We just got TiVo at home so Serena and I are both excited. Finally in the modern world. The only time I do watch TV is like at night, around 10. Watch the same thing.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. I don't really watch the news. I mean, I was barely able to get out of the storm because of that. I didn't know it was coming till someone started talking about it from my office. In some ways I'm very unaware of the latest happenings in the world. I kind of leave it like that because sometimes it's better not to know.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Wrist snap where?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I was trying to add some more spin to keep the ball in. Sometimes I was surprised that they dropped in because it looked like they were going out, but they were pretty solid.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It's a reality show that Serena has me watching. It's not the -- I've never seen that one. It's another one where you have to be really '70s, the most '70s person. She's got me watching the show. It's pretty sad. We joke about how '70s we would be like. "Super Fly."

VENUS WILLIAMS: Just these kids competing to be the most '70s. If you say something that happened any time outside of the '70s, then you're subject to be thrown out. It's kind of funny after a while. At first you wonder why you're watching it.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I didn't.

VENUS WILLIAMS: We kind of lived it. We kind of knew what was going to happen.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It was pretty easy. That was surprising. I didn't think it would be so easy.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Not often. When we were younger, we would have been scared. Now we're all grown up, we're a little scared.

VENUS WILLIAMS: You'd have to know my mom to understand why you have to take care of her. She's a tough woman. You know, you can't double-cross her. She still gets lost in her own city, those kinds of little things. She's funny.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, yeah, I love my mom. She's so fun. I get to spend a lot of time with her, at least on the road.

VENUS WILLIAMS: She would have been a "Brickhouse."

VENUS WILLIAMS: I did.

VENUS WILLIAMS: (Standing up, modeling her dress.)

VENUS WILLIAMS: Absolutely.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It was fantastic. I heard that some of the dresses were quite heavy to play in, when you hear stories on Billie Jean, all the players that got to play in his dresses. I didn't have that chance. Have to create my own Ted Tinling type thing.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I've never programmed it.

VENUS WILLIAMS: You'd have to ask Serena. I think she may have recorded some before. I've occasionally rewound it. I haven't had a chance to learn how to work it. I just came home and next thing I know, the box was there. Someone set it up for us.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Absolutely. After The Golden Girls, after Bea Arthur left, they had The Golden Palace. They're showing that for a limited time. Don Cheadle is in it. We're very excited because we feel like it's an honor. Hey, it is what it is.

VENUS WILLIAMS: My mom says, "Fear is nothing but the devil." It's the worst enemy, fear and doubt in these kinds of things. I don't know, from chaos comes clarity.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I just had some times that I needed to break away from tennis because I was working hard. A lot of times I wasn't very healthy either. I think that ramified (sic) the issue. In any case, there were times when I just had to take a break and come back into it, kind of step out of the box, a little bit away from tennis, take a week off, get back in there and just keep working at it.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, it happens to me a lot actually. Not a lot. But when I get to that point of too much, then I tend to get sick. But I also tend to always do too much because that's just my personality. What do you call it, Type A?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I'm okay.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think the wise players are curtailing their schedules. But not everyone can be -- I'm quite blessed. I have the opportunity. I've been able to save a couple dollars. Some players do have to play for a living. I'm not in the situation, fortunately. I do. But some players need this week to week. You know, there's that type of player and there's others who, for whatever reason, they can play a lot and don't suffer from it. But for me, I can't do it. I know that. I just try to do the best I can for me, and at the same time fulfill my commitment.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Not really. I can't really ever get away from it. It's my marriage, you know.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It has ups and downs like all of them, but it's my marriage. It is what it is. I love it, though, at the end of the day.

VENUS WILLIAMS: It's a beautiful thing, it really is. I mean, sometimes I'll be like sitting around, "Yes, I won Wimbledon." Like a two-year-old, fist pump. It's just exciting any time to win such a championship. I guess what made it so special for me, I would hope for Lindsay also, it was an historic moment. Not so many opportunities you have to be part of history, people look back and say, "Yes, you were a part of this match." I'm sure one day it will be broken, but at least for the time being it's something very special.

VENUS WILLIAMS: That's fantastic. Steffi was an unbelievable player, probably the greatest ever, although the game is quite different now than the time she played. She was the top and everyone else was quite far, not as powerful. In any case, she was great. I probably will never reach her level of achievements. You know, it would be wrong for me to try to compare myself to her. But in any case, I'll just do what I can. Hopefully that will be something like matching her back to back to back.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, man, it was so exciting. I just always imagined like I would cry under such circumstances, but I couldn't stop laughing. I should have known that I would have laughed.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Actually, the leaping ability came in that April at the Green Day concert. As you know, I'm a diehard Green Day fan. We got all punked out, and had out little punk rock outfits and went to the Green Day concert and I was jumping so high. We went like forwards, kind of the mosh pit area. There's like little kids in there, not heavy. We just had the best time. That's where I got my leaping ability.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Miami.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. It was at Miami University.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I had little jean boots. Serena, she had like a jean dress, pink fishnets. I had pearls in mine, pleated skirt, it was kind of gothic with red plaids. I drew on my face, these kinds of things. We were sexy punk rockers.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah. But people were fine because they were there to see Green Day, not Venus and Serena.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. My sister Isha came, she loves Boulevard of Broken Dreams. My other sister Lyn came. Our friend Ron came, lots of people came. It was just a big celebration.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Hardly ever. I never get to -- I have to play. Those moments are very, very special to me because I get to do something I really want to do. Not that I don't want to play tennis, I do, but a lot of things I can't because I have to hit the courts every other tournament.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Never met the guys. My favorite is Mike the bassist, always has been, since '94. You know, one day hopefully.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think they did. We left.