Richard, Serena and Venus are very different from the average WTA player in
the way they approach tennis...

Yes, and this is something I'm very proud of. I've always known education is
the key to everything. Even as a very successful tennis player, education
will make a difference. We've heard of top tennis players with only primary
school education succeed and make millions of dollars, only to get ripped off
by smart crooks and end un in deep trouble. Yes, they had tennis skills, but
their lack of education cost them a lot. And even as people in general, I
think you need to be educated to survive. It's incredible how people without
education can get abused in all kinds of way, and I simply didn't want
anything bad to happen to my daughters. I'm not necessarily talking anout a
formal education, but also time spent pursuing various interests, like
reading, staying informed on what's going on in the world, economics, other
cultures and languages. Take Venus, for example, you'll see her read a book
any chance she gets and she follows various courses. There's life beyond the
baseline, you know.

You are the one who introduced Serena and Venus to tennis...

Yes, but to be perfectly honest with you, I've never liked tennis that much.
It was never a real passion of mine or anything. It was more of a speculation
on our part. We were in the ghetto and I was looking for a way out, something
that would allow us to develop, be better and yes, make money in the process
too. I looked around and the most obvious solution appeared to be tennis and
having Venus and Serena become professional tennis players. So that's the
direction we took, and it worked very well. But let's not forget that money
isn't everything. I like making money but it's just an indicator of how good
you are and how hard you're trying. If the most you can make is a hundred
dollars and you manage to make that, then it's great.

In the stands, you're always busy with your smart phone or mini-computer. Are
you keeping track of your daughters' tennis statistics?

No, not at all, I'm not like some coaches, who record every single move or
point or figure regarding their player's game. Actually, to tell you the
truth, I don't really enjoy watching Serena or Venus when they're on court.
So I actually write things, little notes on things I want to tell them about
later. Sometimes, it's a little bit of creative work, too, for some books I
write. You know, I must have written hundreds of books or material for books
on different themes. As for the various machines or device you see me use,
yes, new technologies are something I've always been very interested in. I
guess you could say I'm some sort of visionary as I've always tried hard to
keep up with the new processes in fields like video feed, image, computers
but also to anticipate the next big changes or trends... Venus was only three
or four years old when we had her get used to a computer, a Commodore C64
back then.

Your daughters are very lucky to have you as a parent...

I don't think luck has anything to do with it, it's something God made
possible. And then, from that, some opportunities that we all seized and did
not let go.

So good luck to Serena in her match against Elena Dementieva.

Well, unfortunately, I have to tell you she won't be able to play that match,
she has a knee injury.