AUSTRALIAN OPEN


January 30, 2009


Serena Williams
Venus Williams

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA


WILLIAMS-WILLIAMS/Hantuchova-Sugiyama
6-3, 6-3


THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Venus, is this win as good as the other seven? And how do you complement
each other on the court?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, they're all so wonderful. It's definitely as good as
the other seven.
I think we complement each other on the court because we're both extremely
positive. We know, when the other one moves, what the other one needs to do
to compensate for that or to add to it.
You know, I think that we're so good at putting the ball away, I think it
helps us so much.

Q. Serena, many top players don't play doubles. Why do you play doubles?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I have a great partner. I don't have to work too hard
out there. Just hit some big serves. Venus hits some big serves. We put the
ball away.
Most of all, I love to play doubles. For me it's great practice, great fun.
If I'm really fit, then I like to go for the win in both events.

Q. Does it help your singles?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think it definitely does. I think it definitely helps my
singles.

Q. Does it improve your volleying?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Of course, it improves my volleying, opening up the court,
seeing the court better.

Q. Looks like you guys are having fun out there. Are there downsides to
playing with each other? The Bryan brothers talk about how they can say
something to each other that they wouldn't say to another partner.
SERENA WILLIAMS: And that's the downside?

Q. Like something nasty.
VENUS WILLIAMS: We never, ever in our lives have said nasty things to each
other. We just don't operate that way. So, no.
SERENA WILLIAMS: We try to keep it really positive. Especially in
competition, we definitely keep it as positive as we can get.

Q. How many titles do you think you're capable of winning if you continue to
play together?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Obviously, we have to play well. We played a great team
today. They were very tough. At the end there I think we just maybe wanted it
a little more. I don't know.
If we keep playing, I think we can just keep getting titles. We haven't
played so much in the last seven years or eight years. If we would have
played during that time, we probably would have gotten even more.

Q. Do you plan to play at the other slams this year?
VENUS WILLIAMS: We're going to do our best to.

Q. Can you describe the difference in the pleasure that you take between
combining on a winning point and striking a winning point in a match of your
own.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Hmm. Well, I think that when you play good points in doubles,
you tend to smile a little more, enjoy that point with someone else. It's
definitely a different kind of feeling, 'cause in singles you're so focused,
you don't even smile, you just move to that next point without any kind of
elation.
In doubles, you kind of celebrate a little bit, even the points and the
games. It is definitely different. It's a team.

Q. How clueless were you when you first started playing doubles together? How
much more advanced are you now in terms of strategy?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I think when we first started playing, we thought we knew
each other so well we didn't have to talk between points. Do you remember
that?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Someone told us, maybe Zina, that we needed to talk between
points (laughter).
SERENA WILLIAMS: We never told each other where we were going to serve or
anything.
VENUS WILLIAMS: We just figured we're so close that we don't need to do that.
I think that's pretty clueless (laughter).

Q. You seem to be better getting to the net, doing traditional doubles stuff.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, we're definitely better at that. Sometimes we stay at
the baseline because we have such great groundstrokes. We lose sight that we
need to come in. Once we come in, I think it's even more dangerous, so...
Either way we're doing pretty good.

Q. I'm sure you're relieved neither has to face that volley close range from
the other. Some of those shots today were ferocious.
SERENA WILLIAMS: That's what I told Venus the other day. I can't imagine
playing her. She's covering the whole net. At one point today I literally
stood back and she took care of everything, so...
Yeah, I just wouldn't want to face them too much. They are ferocious.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about the new drug testing program and the
extra challenges as far as having to tell officials where you are all the
time.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, we're both on the Player Council. We all work through
these issues. Obviously we want integrity in tennis and in sports. So we
think that drug testing is good for sports. That's really how we feel.
Any details of that that may need to be worked out or that are a little bit
confusing for the players, we continue to work on that as Player Council
members.

Q. Has it been a challenge for you at any time?
VENUS WILLIAMS: You really just take a cup. It's really not that challenging.
Just get in there and then, yeah (laughter). Pretty much what happens.

End of FastScripts