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XXIX OLYMPIC GAMESAugust 17, 2008Serena WilliamsVenus WilliamsBEIJING, CHINA WILLIAMS-WILLIAMS/Medina-Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-0 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Were you surprised at how easy it was? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, it wasn't easy. We were so focused and we wanted every point. We pretty much worked for every point. So it was like playing that way makes it easier. But, you know, we went out there and we fought with everything that we had. Q. Can you compare and contrast what it feels like to win an event as a single and how it feels to do it as part of a doubles team. SERENA WILLIAMS: It's awesome to win in singles. I mean, especially winning a Grand Slam event is even almost nearly more awesome. But then to win Olympic gold, it's great because as a tennis player you work to win Grand Slams. Having a gold medal is like an extra bonus, so it's really cool. Q. Venus, can you talk about how this compares to Sydney in 2000. VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, Sydney was fantastic, doing it for the first time. Here it's also very exciting. We I guess have one less medal for the U.S. But still, you know, we feel like we've contributed to our country in a huge way. That's really what it's all about. Q. Could either one of you talk about the mentality you have going into a Grand Slam versus the mentality you have coming here. How are they different? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I don't think it's that much different. I mean, today we were in the finals. Just like in the finals of a Grand Slam or another event, we always go in with the same mentality, the same focus, the same drive to win, you know, because we get this far, you obviously want to do the best that you can do. For me it's exactly the same intensity and everything. Q. Are you staying around after this or are you back on the road preparing for the US Open? VENUS WILLIAMS: We're going to prepare for the US Open. It's so close. No, we're going to start right away, start preparing. Q. The only WTA tournament in Africa is the tournament in Fez, in Morocco, scheduled in May. Would it be possible to have the Williams sisters visit us in Morocco? You'd have a lot of friends and people loving you. Is it possible? VENUS WILLIAMS: I would love to. But if it will happen, I'm not sure. I love visiting new places. I've never been there. I think we do have a lot of fans there, so it would be nice to meet them and hopefully, if we play, win the tournament. We'll see what the future brings. Q. I don't know what great students of history you are, but there's something going, I don't know, that may affect when you go to London. There are two people in the world who have won all four Grand Slams at least once in their life and an Olympic gold medal. They're married to each other, Steffi and Andre. Venus needs a French and Serena needs an Olympic gold medal. Do you think about those things? If you do that, you become the third and fourth to do it. SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I never really thought about that. You know, we just try to win every event that we can. We just do the best that we can in all the events. VENUS WILLIAMS: I see it a little differently. I see that Serena has two gold medals. Q. I'm talking about singles. VENUS WILLIAMS: I think in the Olympics, a gold is a gold. It doesn't matter what event or discipline. It just matters that, you know, you got the gold or a medal. It's amazing actually, 'cause after so many people standing in the draw, there's one or two left who get the ultimate prize. Q. Could I get your views on the status of women's tennis in the world today. You have the No. 1 who's never actually gone into the Olympic finals or any Grand Slam titles. How do you see that as a phenomenon? SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I don't know. I mean, if you play a lot, then it can definitely affect your ranking. You know, we're just really excited to have won gold medals for our country right now. That's our main topic of discussion. Q. In the singles, were you surprised to see not only three Russians win, but also who they were? It wasn't the top two Russians, at least in terms of the rankings. VENUS WILLIAMS: You know, I guess we've been so excited about our medal that we didn't really think about it. But obviously congratulations to all of them, all the medal winners, all the competitors. We're just excited about our accomplishments. Q. I know doubles doesn't have the popularity of singles, but were you surprised at how few fans were out there today? What did you think of the Spanish fans, the stuff they were yelling and chanting during the match? VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I mean, here it's been people kind of come at the end or come during the match. The stadium fills. SERENA WILLIAMS: There's been a lot of people throughout the whole tournament. We have had great crowds. Today I actually thought there were a lot of people, a lot of supporters out there, as well. We were excited to have, especially with everything going on between the athletics, the swimming, the gymnastics, I mean, we're really I think doing well. Especially to have such marquee singles players to be in the doubles competition winning, it was a great crowd for me. Q. How about just the Spanish fans? SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, we thought they were cool. I mean, even when they got up and just did like the little run-around. I actually thought we should join them. They looked like they were having so much fun. We play under any circumstances. I thought it was great the crowd was able to get so into the match. Q. At this point the two of you have won a fair number of major doubles titles together. Can you talk a little bit about that, sisters playing together? Does it ever grow old? Is it always so meaningful to be playing alongside each other? VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, it never grows old because I was literally born with a doubles partner. So I didn't even have to worry about it. She never gets tired of me. She doesn't mind if I miss a few. I can always rely on her to play unbelievable tennis. So it's really perfect. So when we do play, it feels good to be able to get the good result, even if we haven't been playing as much doubles as our opponents. It's just pluses. SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, basically, I don't know anyone out there who would get tired of playing with Venus Williams. You know, that's impossible. Q. Both of you had some injuries recently, within the past month. Did you feel that creeping back up? VENUS WILLIAMS: No, we just feel really blessed to be here and to be winning gold. So nothing can dampen that, injury or no injury. We're just going to stay as healthy as we can and move on to the US Open after this. Q. Can you assess the state of your game going into the US Open? Kind of a preview. VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I mean, for me, I don't even start assessing. I just start believing in me. All that assessing stuff can really get you in trouble. So I just go out there and start grinding and winning. And that's basically my plan. SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm really excited for the Open. I feel like I'm playing really solid and much better than I have been all year, to be honest. I really look forward to it. End of FastScripts |
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