CHINA OPEN

October 1, 2013

Venus Williams

BEIJING, CHINA

S. LISICKI/V. Williams
6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR:  Questions in English, please.

Q.  Looked like Sabine's serve was untouchable today.  Talk about that and
her powerful game.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, she hit so many shots that were untouchable today.
 She is one of those players when she's on, she's on.
She plays really well when she's up against a player that maybe she doesn't
feel as much pressure against.  You know, yeah, I think she just played
really well.

Q.  You've played a lot of matches on this kind of tour of Asia.  Do you feel
like you just didn't have the energy level out there today, or was it more
just her overpowering you?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I wanted to play well, but I think mostly she just
played well and I didn't really take my opportunities when I had them.  I
think more than anything, it was about holding serve, and I just didn't do
that today.
Against someone like her, you have to hold serve and then get ready for a
break; I didn't do that.

Q.  You said you feel like she didn't have a lot of pressure against you.
 Why do you feel like that?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I feel like when she plays top players, I think she comes
into matches a lot more relaxed.  She comes into the match relaxed and just
goes for the lines and she hits them.  Sometimes, as a player across the net,
you just to have, you know, say, Good shot every single time.

Q.  The way tennis is going these days on the men's and women's tour with
power and speed coming on top of everything else, especially for the Asian
players who are smaller built, how difficult is it for them to break through
in pro tennis in both men's and women's tour?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I don't think it's that hard.  I played someone at the US
Open who wanted to hit just as hard as me.  These days, it's not about being
the biggest and the best.  It's about being able to execute your game every
single point.
Yeah, I think that's pretty much it.

Q.  You were Grand Slam champion, and I wonder what inspired you to carry on
your career?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, for me, I love this game.  It's really a lot of fun.
 I've trained my whole life to do this, so that's why I'm here.

Q.  I wondering about the future.  If you imagine one day retiring, will you
follow your sister to all tournaments or would you rather...
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Follow her where?

Q.  To all tournaments and events, or would you stay back and relax?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  That's a weird question.

Q.  Sorry.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I'll let you answer that one for yourself.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports