WIMBLEDON

July 2, 2008

Serena Williams
Venus Williams

LONDON, ENGLAND

WILLIAMS-WILLIAMS/Mattek-Mirza
6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Venus and Serena for you. And before you start, there will
only be questions on the doubles. No questions on the singles.

Q. How would you describe the relationship between you and the bond you two
have?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I think we have a great relationship. We really support
each other and we're there for each other no matter what.
I think that's what sisters are about, so we definitely are role models for
each other. We're extremely motivated by each other, win or loss, on or off
the court.

Q. Serena?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I completely zoned out. I don't even remember the question.

Q. How would you describe the relationship between you and the bond the two
of you share?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I just think our relationship is just really close.
Obviously a sisterly relationship. Just we're like two peas in a pod.

Q. What inspires you most that you see in Venus?
SERENA WILLIAMS: You know, just everything that she does inspires me.

Q. And, Venus, about Serena?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I think she's really fearless, and I learned a lot from
her on that.

Q. Venus, if you could sit back and get one characteristic or attribute from
your sister, what would that be?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I think she has a real joy for life, and I think she really
does that really well. I would totally do that, if I could.

Q. Venus, do you still feel a lot like an older sister? You're sort of equal
in your tennis world, but do you still feel like big sister over your little
sister?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, absolutely. That's my job. That's a huge part of my life,
is being a big sister. I love that job. It makes me really proud. I'm always
happy when I can help out. It's definitely one of the joys of my life.

Q. Do you give advice, solicited or unsolicited?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yes, I do give advice. It doesn't matter, we laugh about
everything and anything. It's more about happy advice.

Q. Do you think it's more important for you to be a big sister because you're
also a little sister?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, yeah, I guess so. I guess whenever I need a big sister
I have one to go to.

Q. Serena, it's not always easy to be the second one, the younger one. Do you
ever wish that you might be the older one?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, never. It's good being the youngest. You get away with a
lot.

Q. Like what?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Whatever I want, I get away with it, so...
You know, it's the best thing in the world.

Q. Do you feel like you were kind of the spoiled baby of the family?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Totally, for sure. It's perfect. I love it.

Q. Can you tell us a little about your domestic arrangement here. Are you
cooking for each other, sleeping back to back? What's the setup?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, we just live together. We don't do any cooking. I
usually do all the cooking in Florida for her.
VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't cook.
SERENA WILLIAMS: But here we haven't done too much cooking. We just eat out
every night, get take-away, watch TV.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, you cooked last year more.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I cooked a lot last year, not this year.

Q. Do you generally go to dinner together or eat dinner together?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No, not this year, because we've been playing doubles so late
that our life is confined to the tennis center and to the house. But it's a
privilege.

Q. When it comes to choosing a doubles partner, obviously you don't have a
choice here, but the couple times you played mixed doubles, how have you got
into playing with Justin Gimelstob or Max Mirnyi? How have those partnerships
come together?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, we just look for people that we feel we would get
along with both on and off the court, because it's important in doubles to
have a great dynamic with that person.
And then I always look for someone who has a big serve so I don't have to
work so hard. Hence, my doubles partner.

Q. I saw Serena's picture in the Olympic book that the ITF did as an ice
skater. Why did you choose not to be a part of that project?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I was honestly so busy, I had no free time. I was happy that
Serena was in the book.

Q. What would you have picked as a sport if you had a choice?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know. A diver.

Q. You mentioned sometimes you get take-away. What's your favorite take-away
this year at Wimbledon?
SERENA WILLIAMS: This year we've been eating a lot of Chinese food. Just lots
of, you know, chicken and rice, so...

Q. What do you learn from playing doubles together? Do you feel like you
learn a lot about each other's single's games, too, for when you play each
other?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I think the doubles gets us really amped for the singles, and
the next day we're all tuned and ready to go. And I think that we just -- we
love playing doubles.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think the doubles -- I think for me it helps my
singles. I feel like I'm not necessarily out there scouting her game for
singles - although maybe I should.
It's like we're so intense and so in the moment because we really want to win
the doubles and just win our matches and do well. So it's just like we're
focused on that.

Q. Speaking of doubles, when it comes to that all-important area of love
life, who gives the best advice?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I'm a relationship expert, so... .
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yes.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm a certified relationship expert.

Q. So you're the go-to person?
SERENA WILLIAMS: If they ever have a relationship problem, they always come
to me.

Q. What has been the biggest challenge that tennis has provided to your
relationship as sisters, do you think?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I think we don't get to see each other as much as we
would like. If one of us is playing in another place or another person has a
commitment with one of our sponsors that's a challenge, because we're really
close and love to see each other. That's the biggest challenge.

Q. Serena, what would be your answer?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I would agree. You know, sometimes I go five, six weeks
without seeing Venus, or I'll be home and then I'll leave the day she comes.
We always miss paths. We're always playing or somewhere working.

Q. How is competition sometimes between each other challenging to your
relationship, if at all?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it hasn't challenged my relationship. I mean, we leave
everything on the court. We're sisters the moment we shake hands.

Q. How do you think you've come by this? I don't get along that well with my
sister, but you seem to be rather attached. We have more of the sibling
rivalry. Is it something you think your parents did in raising you that you
seem to have a healthy attitude?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think our parents did that. It's not only with us,
it's all of our sisters. It's really just our whole life is surrounded by our
sisters. That's just how it is for us, so we're blessed.

Q. Could you imagine where you would be in your lives if your father hadn't
introduced you to tennis?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I would do whatever she would be doing, so...
VENUS WILLIAMS: I would have been in college, I would have probably been
modeling, and then I probably would have been a music producer and a
choreographer.

Q. Serena, you mentioned you normally get what you want in the family
relationship. Do you think that will extend to the singles title?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm gonna hope so, but I doubt it.

End of FastScripts