U.S. OPEN


August 31, 2009


Venus Williams

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK


V. WILLIAMS/V. Dushevina
6-7, 7-5, 6-3


THE MODERATOR: Questions for Venus.

Q. How did you pull that out?
VENUS WILLIAMS: You know, she was playing very well. She put everything in
the court, tried to move the ball around, you know, she was serving well.
So, you know, I had a challenge on my hands today. But I wanted to win. And,
uhm, each good shot and each not-so-good shot I put behind me and looked
forward to the next one. Most of all, I just enjoyed the moment.

Q. How do you explain all those foot faults?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know. I didn't even know which foot it was at the
beginning. I think it threw me off in the tiebreak because, you know, I had
6-3. After that, I just got a little tentative.
Yeah, so, you know, the tiebreak was definitely in my hands. I could have had
the opportunity to close it out in two sets. You know, pretty confident that
I could have. But I'm glad I closed it out in three.

Q. Is your knee issue just tendinitis, or are you going to have any further
tests?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I never said what it was (smiling). I never get into details
about any injuries I'm going through. You could see I had some issues. I'm
just going to do my best to get as close to a hundred percent as I can for my
next match.

Q. How much do you think these issues are going to affect you as you continue
on, and how concerned are you?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, I won't be complaining. I'm going to go out there with my
racquet, just like everyone else, and try to bring my best tennis. That's the
best I can do.

Q. Is this the same problem you had in Wimbledon?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, where I needed the support (smiling)? I guess I still
did need some support.
Yeah, like I said, I don't really talk about my injuries historically, and
I'm not going to start now. But I'm just going to do my best to be as close
to a hundred percent for my next match.

Q. Final set, you're cruising along. What happened?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, you know, I almost had 5-Love. She did start playing
well. Started using my power to bring the ball right back. I just started to
rush a little bit just too much. So obviously right there I felt like, and
then lose serve once and it's almost even.
But obviously it's great to have two breaks, and I think some good serving
helps me to get to 5-3. I just kind of started rushing a little bit, 'cause
against a player like her, you'll quite possibly play a few more balls. Yeah,
I wanted it too quickly for a few games there.

Q. You were having some problems with your serve. Commentators started
talking about serving in women's tennis. One of them said the person who
serves best will win the tournament. Do you agree with that?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know. I don't care what commentators say. So it's
just all, you know, like -- they aren't on the court winning championships. I
don't really... Yeah.

Q. At what point in the match did you feel like you dug deep and really
started to put your game on?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I think, you know, once I was down 1-3 in the second, I
really just tried to stay focused and not to, you know, unravel and start to
go for bigger and better shots, which wasn't the answer.
I really don't remember quite what happened at the moment, but it really
worked out. The crowd was really great at 4-5. It was just one of those great
New York moments.

Q. Traditionally the night sessions, they've always had the women's match
first. Roddick went on past 11:00. I'm wondering if you think or have any
sympathy for him? When they do a ceremony on court, do you think they should
do one match instead of two?
VENUS WILLIAMS: You know, I wasn't very patriotic today. Close to a
three-hour match. Didn't help him out at all. Looks like he's doing okay. I
think the people still want to see tennis, even though there's a ceremony.
People buy tickets for the first night. It's really exciting, and they want
to see two matches.

Q. Right before your match, did you get a chance to see any of the ceremony,
say hello to Andre Agassi?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I didn't. I didn't, so... I didn't.

Q. Did it cross your mind in the second set, I've never lost in the first
round of the US Open before?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No. No. I mean, in the second set you're just focusing on
winning that set. That's it.

Q. Did you ever think you might lose this match tonight?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, there were times where I wasn't playing my best, but
there were times where I hit some good shots, too. Then it kind of started
swinging my way to more and more good shots on my end.
Like I said, I think she played well. She played really well. She gave it all
she had. Really made me win the match, so I have to give a lot of credit to
her for really playing well.

Q. At this point, based on what you felt so far in the match with whatever is
bothering you, do you think you're going to play doubles, or is that up in
the air?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I love doubles. I'm going to do my best to stay in,
definitely. That hasn't even crossed my mind if I'm going to pull out yet. I
don't know, it's like a commitment. When you enter, it's a commitment. It's
been so long, so I would like to try to win that title, too.

Q. Did you change your strategy at all with all the backhand winners she had
throughout the match?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Did she have a lot of winners? I have to look at the stats. I
don't remember that many winners from her.
I think she did prefer her backhand. But, yes, she hit both sides well
tonight.

End of FastScripts