SONY ERICSSON OPEN

March 25, 2012

Venus Williams

MIAMI, FLORIDA

V. WILLIAMS/A. Wozniak
4-6, 6-4, 7-6

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Where did you find the strength to hit that last serve?  Last serve was
119.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  You know, my mentality is to go for broke, and then from
there I try to be sensible.  So it's kind of a mix between that and-- that's
the serve I wanted, just a big one to hopefully force the issue, and thank
God it went in.  Wow.

Q.  How tired were you?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Um, no, it was tough out there.  It was tough, but also it
was made even tougher because she played well.
I don't know if I've ever seen her play as well as she did.  Obviously she
was close to the top 20 so she has that tennis in her.  I have to give her a
lot of credit to her.

Q.  Can you compare the feelings after these two pretty different wins for
you?  6-Love in the third and very high ranked player, and the other one you
fight to save the match point to get out against somebody who is another
wildcard like you.  How does the emotion compare?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  She had match point?  Oh.  Oh, no.  Thank God I'm oblivious
to the score a lot of times.  Oh, my god, that's not good news.
Well, you know, every time that -- I just kept coming back.  I tried not to
let anything discourage me today.  I kept thinking about how I really need
this match and I need these points.  I keep thinking about the Olympics and I
need my points.
Whenever things look bleak, I think about the Olympics and that keeps me
motivated.

Q.  Judging from that last answer, the confidence, does it ever waiver?  Does
it waiver like in a match like this where you seem to be down and all of a
sudden you pick it up?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Um, you know, I think everyone has ups and downs.  It's just
all how you handle it mentally.  So I try to handle the ups and downs
mentally, especially in a match like today when the opponent is playing well.

Q.  Is it all about the Olympics for you?  Is that like tunnel vision?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, well, when I don't want to get up or, you know, I want
to do something different, I want to make an error, then I think about the
Olympics and how if I don't do the right thing I might not be there.
That keeps me on the straight and narrow.

Q.  What is it about the Olympics?  You have been there a few times and been
successful.  What about the Olympics is so important to you?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  It's just the ultimate level in sports.  It's about
participating.  It's about having that experience.  It's about having the
honor to be good enough to be there.
It's just, you know, the pinnacle of sports.

Q.  Are you hoping to play both singles and doubles in London?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah.  I'm just gonna be there, so I need to be there.
 That's pretty much the goal.  I'm not thinking about what event, just that
I'll be there.

Q.  Have you thought about mixed at all?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I used to think about mixed.  I don't know if I'm thinking
about mixed now.

Q.  That's a lot of tennis.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, it's a lot of tennis.  Like I said, Olympics.  That's
all I'm thinking about.

Q.  Presuming your singles ranking is going to determine whether you go in or
out, is that on your mind?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I feel like I have some time to figure that out, but I want
to play well at the big tournaments.  That makes my job a little easier, and
so...
I don't even remember the question anymore, but basically I'm just giving
100%.

Q.  After the match you said, I needed this match.  Can you elaborate on the
way or ways you felt you needed it?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I needed this match so that I could play the Olympics.
 (Laughter.)
So any time I think about losing, then I think about that I have to get to
the Olympics, so then I try to win even more and try not to get discouraged.

Q.  Have you calculated your ranking now and what you need to do to get
there?  Are you sitting there with all the numbers?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Not really, because that's like such a rookie move to
calculate points.
I try not to do that, but secretly I probably am.  But more than anything
it's about getting the win, so that's what I'm trying to do.

Q.  When your dad came on court after the match, what did he say to you as
you walked off together?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Oh, um, Great match.  I think he was just proud as a coach
and as a dad.
He's always a dad first, so he, I guess, came to help me a little bit.

Q.  How much self-knowledge do you have now about your condition and about
how much a match like this could take out of you, how well you might feel
tomorrow morning?  Is this all still something you have to deal with on a
day-to-day basis?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I don't know.  I don't know.  I don't know.  (Smiling.)
I don't have an answer for that.  I just know that I'll give as much as I
possibly can.  I know I'm not nearly as bad as I was.  That's already awesome.
I think I have a lot to learn still, but my motto is that I can spend the
same amount of time winning the point than I do losing the point no matter
how I feel.  That's pretty much what I try to tell myself.
That works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't.  I have a disconnect between
my mind and my body.  Like sometimes I don't get to do what I want to do, but
then I have to get myself to do that.
So it's a mental battle.

Q.  The other part of it, is it an emotional battle?  As much as you have
been training to get back and taking great care with your diet and everything
else, how much do emotions fatigue you, or, for that matter, give you energy?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Oh, gosh, that's a good question.  I think, you know,
fighting on the court is emotional.  You have to be ready emotionally.
 Everything has to be hopefully a 100%.
So, you know, I have been fighting a long time, so sometimes you can't have a
letdown and just say, I'm tired.
But, you know, I think about how miserable I'm gonna feel when I have a loss
and I still spend that same time having a win, so I just keep try to digging
deeper.
In the scheme of things, if I have to spend three hours out of 24 in the day,
then I'm gonna spend the three hours and try to win.
It might not work every time, but I just gotta do what I gotta do.

Q.  Was there a time when you thought you might not play again, or you always
knew that you would?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  No, I felt like I would-- I mean, there would be times where
I would be scared for about five seconds, but it's not-- like I can't spend
that time being afraid.  I have to move forward.
So it's easy to be afraid, and it's a lot of hard work to come back to this
level, especially, you know, with the time constraints.  I need to play now
so I can play the Olympics.  It's like I have to get back.  Something's gotta
give.
So it's a lot.

Q.  What do you do with the pins?  I know you collected a lot in Beijing, for
sure.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I pretty much hide them around the house to the point where
I can't even find them.  So then it takes me a few months to figure out where
I hid them.  They're my pride and joy.  But I have a pin holder set, Olympic
pin holder set.
You unzip it and you open it, and I have 2000 and 2004 in there.  Strange
enough, I haven't put 2008 in there.  I need to get cracking, spend a few
hours arranging it perfectly.
It's crazy, but, you know, it's all the memories there.

Q.  Talk about the all the people here watching you today and what that meant
to you.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Serena was there, my sister Lynn, my dad, a lot of people
who supported me with EleVen who are working in the tent, keep the dream
alive, Jess here who is my good friend and works with me as well.
My physio, friends who hit with me in West Palm, everybody who has been with
me along the way.  Just so many people because I'm local down here.
So like that really helped for them to be there.

Q.  How would you judge your energy level at the end of the match?  Was it
because she was playing so much better?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  No, I didn't feel that great and I was kind of starting to
panic.  I needed to calm down and try to figure out a strategy that was going
to work a little better than what I was doing at the moment.
So, you know, she was playing well.  She came to play.  But just hoping for a
better day tomorrow.

Q.  (Indiscernible.)
VENUS WILLIAMS:  No, my calf was fine, actually.  The tape worked quite well.

Q.  Ana or Daniela next?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  We'll see.  Not my choice.  Thankfully I got a win today.  I
didn't ask for much more than that.  We'll see.

Q.  Your experience with them?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I think I've had, you know, pretty good records against both
of them throughout the years, so hopefully that will get me a few games in
the beginning.
I don't know.  They're both playing well and they've been playing
consistently, you know, for a while.  And they're both motivated, as well.

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