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WIMBLEDON

June 21, 2010

Venus Williams

LONDON, ENGLAND

V. WILLIAMS/R. De Los Rios
6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Venus.

Q. Were you happy with the way the game went tonight?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah. Really a long day at the tennis. So I was happy to get on this evening. You know, everything was pretty straightforward today.

Q. How does that affect the game when you have such a long wait?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Just wait. I mean, I'm used to waiting. I've played this tournament a lot, a lot of tournaments. That's what it's about. When you're not first on, you wait. That's part of it.

Q. You started off with a vengeance. Was that something that was building up inside you, the frustration of waiting?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know if I want to call it that. But I was just, you know, ready to go. Been practicing on the grass since Wednesday. So I feel like I had a good feel for it. I was just ready to go for it.

Q. Good to get that first round out of the way.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah. The first round, plus you never know how the courts are going to play, if it's going to be slippery, how the bounce will be. Each one's playing so different.
I was pretty happy with how the court was playing, to be playing clean.

Q. What were the conditions like on the court?
VENUS WILLIAMS: The court might seem a little bit slippery. But it's grass, so you're going to slip every now and then on the stuff.

Q. You'll see a more muted response here to what you were wearing here than in Paris?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Here it's all about white. There is no illusion this time. My dress was inspired by Tina Turner. So, you know, still had the lace motif. I think it's just a fun, elegant dress.

Q. How inspired by her?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Tina Turner? I love her. I love Tina Turner. Obviously, she's just an amazing, amazing artist, just a survivor. She reinvented herself. Plus she looks great. I've loved her forever. So the dress is really inspired by her.

Q. You have Makarova in the next round. Great form at the moment. Is that going to be a difficult one?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Each match is a challenge. I feel like I'm ready and up for each one, so I'll be ready.

Q. Do you feel as good going into this Wimbledon as you have done in the past when you've gone on to win it?
VENUS WILLIAMS: You know, I've had times where I've had a slower start, I've had times where I've had a faster start, so each one is different.

Q. Shifting to the US Open for a moment, as you look back on that tournament, you've had so many great memories there. Is there one that stands out? Might it be the first time you got to the final losing to Hingis, the year you won your first title? Is one memory particularly powerful for you?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Gosh, I mean, obviously the years that I won there were the most memorable, probably especially the first time because I felt like in that final we both were playing great tennis. To come out on top was, you know, really satisfying.

Q. And you had a comeback in the second set. It was a good performance.
VENUS WILLIAMS: When?

Q. Against Lindsay.
VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I think it was the first set. I just remember being really calm and figuring out what I was doing wrong and correcting it. I think that I won like five or six games in a row, which was a tightly contested match. We both were just playing so well. You know, I got the best of her that time.

Q. When you were waiting around, did you find yourself watching some of the Federer match? Is that what people were doing in the locker room?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Not a lot really. It was a tight match. It's tough to watch someone like him get so close to losing. So I tried not to watch it.

Q. You don't like to watch another match before you go on?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah, I'll watch a match. But, you know, it just varies. There's no, you know, routine.

Q. Some people say it makes them more nervous. Some people say they don't care. You're in the middle, I guess?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, maybe in the middle.

End of FastScripts

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