HOME DEPOT CHAMPIONSHIPS


November 8, 2002


Venus Williams

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA


Q. What do you think of the quality of this match? Was it high?

VENUS WILLIAMS: The quality?

Q. Yeah.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think there was some great points, for sure, and then, you
know, there was some unforced errors, also. I think it was quite a long game
and good serves at very important times. It made the game exciting. We were
going back and forth a lot.

Q. Do you think Monica is still dangerous? Somebody said she's almost
finishing her career.

VENUS WILLIAMS: She's definitely not almost finished. Tonight she showed
everyone that she's very much a force to be reckoned with and extremely
serious about her game.

Q. What do you think made the difference tonight?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I didn't want to lose.

Q. Just willpower?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know. I'm just really so used to winning, that, I
don't know, maybe I just thought I could win. I don't really know. It was
definitely a great match, and I was trying to hold the serve, especially. She
broke me when I was up 4-3 in the second. She just did a lot of great shots.
You know, I did make a mistake to get broken, but she hit a lot of good shots
to set herself up. I really wanted to serve well and hold my serve. That's
the name of the game.

Q. You said on television that Monica was your favorite player growing up and
you talk about not wanting to lose. That was a quality that she really had
when she was No. 1. I assume that's something you remember from watching her?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Sure, I remember all those matches in the French Open when
she was down 6-love and the tie breaker with Steffi and, of course, when she
played Capriati. I remember all those things. She's my favorite player. Of
course, when we play now, I'm rooting for me.

Q. Did you start grunting because of Monica?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I started grunting because of Monica. I never grunted before
that, and now I can't stop. You know, I started doing things like her. She
was revolutionary. She took the game to another level and makes everyone
realize it.

Q. Who is the best grunter in the United States?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think definitely Monica. I don't actually hear when I'm
playing. I don't really hear anything. I think she's definitely got a rhythm
going. I can't keep up with her on that part sometimes, though.

Q. Do you practice your grunt much?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, not anymore. I think sometimes when I'm not grunting, I
think my intensity is a little lower and maybe I'm not getting the best out
of myself.

Q. Talking about revolutionaries, do you see yourself and Serena as the new
revolutionaries?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Could be. It looks like. We'll see in a couple of years.

Q. When you come to Los Angeles, do you still go and like to see your old
neighborhood? I mean, do you go? You don't care? Are you curious to see if it
has changed or you don't even think about it?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Things rarely change in life, normally. At a young age, I'm
preaching, but not really. There's not so much to do.

Q. Have you been there again?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Sure, it's a good place.

Q. How are you and Serena revolutionaries?

VENUS WILLIAMS: How are we revolutionizing?

Q. No, how are you revolutionaries?

VENUS WILLIAMS: In which part of life are we talking about?

Q. Well, there is no real division in life. Just in what ways are you a
revolutionary?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I like to think of myself as a forward thinker. I'm always
planning for the future, especially my future, and I always have lots of
activities going on in my life. I'm always planning things out and know
exactly where I'm going and what I'm doing and that kind of thing and what I
want. Maybe in that way I'm a revolutionary off of the court, and on the
court, I like to think I work hard enough to stand out from all the other
players, and that pretty much sums it up.

Q. Did you have any pause, take any pause, before doing your endorsement with
McDonalds? They have a fair number of critics on their business.

VENUS WILLIAMS: On their business, no way. I love McDonalds. Are you kidding?
When I heard the news that they wanted to be affiliated with Serena and I, I
was jumping for joy. I'm so happy to be where I am.

Q. Looking ahead in the draw, have you been watching Kim and how she's been
playing, and what do you think of that matchup?

VENUS WILLIAMS: She's always a great player, very strong and definitely a lot
more intense since she's been able to, I guess, recover from some injuries
that she's had, and I suppose she's had some very good matches, because the
players she played in order to get to the championship were quite good
players. She played quite good, so she won easily. I suppose I'll have to
step it up.

Q. Have you been practicing your net court winners or did you feel lucky
tonight?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I have been thinking about that. Whenever I play Monica,
she's the one that has those shots that hit the net and roll over, and I'm,
you know, getting a little -- it was different tonight, because it was
finally me that was getting those shots, and I felt very, very, very
fortunate and blessed to get those.

Q. Monica hit back a couple of your first serves. One I think was 113 miles
an hour and hit it back for a winner. Did that surprise you?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, not really, because she's a good returner and it looked
like today that she was really, really keen on getting the win, for sure.
Especially considering the record's one-sided, she was even more intense to
come out there and take the match from me. I could see that. Also, a lot of
times the ball is hard and flat, and the player is right there, the shot goes
for a winner. To me, if the shot can hit every time, she has to win the
match. She wasn't able to hit the shot every time. It helped me out.

Q. Kim is one of the few players in the year, other than Serena, that really
challenged you specifically. What is it about her game?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think she has a good combination in her game, good speed,
good power and good consistency. I think she's really improved her attitude
on the court. She tries hard, and other than that, she's just a really good
player and really talented, so it's going to be a tougher match.

Q. How discouraging can it be for a player, even as experienced as Monica, to
have you run down three or four shots that would probably be winners against
anyone else, but -- as Monica said against anyone but you and Serena?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I guess it's hard. I'm never too often in this position, but
I like to think when I'm playing, I can go to Plan B, to run everything down,
or go to Plan C. It definitely helps that I'm also tall and have good reach.
It's because my mom said you're not growing up tall and lanky, so I didn't.

Q. If you could choose a place where you would like to go on vacation, where
would you go?

VENUS WILLIAMS: My house, stay home, live comfortably, be in my bed.

Q. Abroad?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Vacation, could I say Italy?

Q. If you must.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yes.