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ROGERS CUP

August 18, 2009

Venus Williams

TORONTO, ONTARIO

K. BONDARENKO/V. Williams
1-6, 7-5, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Late in the second set you missed an open smash at the net. Then you were broken soon after. Was there a moment in particular where you felt it was starting to come undone?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't remember that point, but I would have liked to have won it. Yeah, she played well. She really started playing consistently, and unfortunately I made too many errors. I would have liked to have played a cleaner match.

Q. Do you feel like now you have more time to prepare for the US Open just because you lost so early?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I have to take it as a positive to, you know, have more time to get ready for the Open. I guess this tournament I never really had a lot of luck, but you know, you have to make your own luck these days.
Now it will give me a chance to rest. It's been a really, really busy summer for me, and you know, I'll just take advantage of this and keep training and just prepare for the Open.

Q. Do you normally enjoy having a first-round bye, or does it make it difficult when you come up against a player like Kateryna who's already got a few matches under her belt?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I've played many, many, many years with a bye, so it has really nothing to do with it.

Q. Chairman and CEO of the WTA Stacey Allaster called you the modern-day Billie Jean King in terms of promoting the game. How does that make you feel?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, I mean, that's a huge compliment. No one will ever be Billie Jean King, but like I say, a huge compliment.

Q. Can you give us any details about what you'll do between now and the Open in terms of preparation and where you'll go and how you'll spend your days?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah. I just go home and train. I'm just going to go home and train. No secret.

Q. Anything in particular you're going to work on?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Just a little of everything.

Q. How much of a factor was the weather, especially in the second and third sets?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I didn't think about the weather.

Q. It's just been so long since you were here in Toronto. Is it a little disappointing that you weren't able to stay a little longer in the tournament, considering it's been that long?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, definitely. I was definitely expecting to play well and to go very far in the tournament. I have a lot of fans here, so it's disappointing.
But I've got to wait another year to be back; more than a year, two years almost. So I'll just try for more the next time.

Q. You looked really, really solid in the first set, and it looked like you came out on fire. Can you tell us what happened, how things got turned around?
VENUS WILLIAMS: It's so soon after the match, but I think definitely, you know, she started to play more consistently and really just kept a lot of balls in play and just ran a lot of balls down. You know, I think I could have moved forward more, but obviously, you know, a big part was too many errors.

Q. You mentioned Kateryna running down the balls. What was her strongest point over the course of the day?
VENUS WILLIAMS: She just kept trying. You know, it says a lot.

Q. Kateryna was asked when she felt that she could win the match. She said it was at 5-4 in the third set. She kind of dead-panned that. When did you feel the match slipping away for yourself?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Obviously when we shook hands.

End of FastScripts

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