DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

February 21, 2014

Venus Williams

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

V. WILLIAMS/C. Wozniacki
6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Very well played.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Thank you.

Q.  Especially the first set.  Very forceful.  Well, and the second set.  You
pushed it right back.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, Caroline is an intense competitor.  She has been since
the very first match I played her like 2007.  Seven years ago.  She's reached
the pinnacle of the game, so she knows what she's doing.
So it feels good to, you know, to be able to get that win today.

Q.  How is it to play all these back-to-back matches, one after the other,
from a physical point of view?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Well, I mean, back-to-back matches I don't think are easy
for anyone, but for me in general I need back-to-back matches.  I feel like
I've just gotten so much better since my first round to now, just feeling
comfortable on the court, feeling comfortable when I'm behind, feeling
comfortable when I'm in the lead.
So it reminds me a lot when I first came on tour, having to learn a lot, so I
feel like I'm learning lessons all over again.

Q.  I'm sure it was important to come back from Love-40 late in that second
set?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, the game is not over.  That's the wonderful part of
tennis is there is no clock.  You can keep going till midnight.  We could
postpone the match till tomorrow.  There is no clock, so you can't give up
those service games.  5-2 is so much better than 4-3 against a player like
Caroline.

Q.  Can we work on the premise that Serena is going to win?  What's it going
to be like for you two in a final again?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I think it will be wonderful for us to walk in the court in
the finals again like we did, you know, the first time so many years ago.  I
haven't been able to hold my side of the bargain these last few years.  You
know, obviously no fault of my own, but it's great for me to be able to be
able to wait in the final for her and for her to get there.  Then we will
just compete for the title, you know, assuming that she wins, which obviously
she's the favorite.

Q.  You seemed really calm on court throughout the week, knowing just when to
attack and when to wait.  Do you think that's been key for you throughout the
week, just being really calm?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I think so.  I think sometimes a little too calm.  I
have like a little bit of a loose point.  Just trying to play within myself,
I think, keep my errors down and not try to be the hero on every single
point.  Sometimes you have to be the sidekick.

Q.  Sisters don't like playing each other, but are you comfortable playing
Serena?  You have done it now so many times.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, especially now.  I'm extremely happy to be able to
play her.  We just haven't been able to in so long in a final.  So for us
now, like to be able to play, I think it would be awesome.

Q.  Maybe Auckland, but when is the last time you really felt like day in,
day out, you were playing at this type of level?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I'm definitely playing better than Auckland, I mean,
even in Tokyo I was having a hard time stringing together four good points.
 It was just inconsistency.  You have to go through it.
I had a lot of tough losses, you know, and I just realized I had to go
through it.  I felt like every time I got better.  Even if I didn't
necessarily get the result I wanted, I realized I am getting better.
So for me --I mean, for every player, you just have to keep stepping to the
line and believing in yourself.

Q.  Is the preparation for a Williams final different to preparations against
other players?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  No, I don't think so (smiling).  You have to bring your best
game obviously against Serena, and hopefully she feels the same against me.
 That would be great, too.
But you've got to bring your best game no matter who you play.  You've got
to, you know, be you.  You can't go out there and try to be somebody else.
 That's what I'll do is, obviously if I play Serena, try to bring my personal
best.

Q.  Just in case it happens, how about Alize?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, you know, I think we played a year ago in the
Australian.  She's been consistently I think in the top 30, and that's not
easy to do.
There are so many good players now, so she knows what it takes to win matches
and she's had big wins.  So if I play her, I know I will have to be ready, as
well.

Q.  You say you haven't been able to hold your end up of the bargain against
Serena in recent years.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  No, I didn't say that.  I said that I haven't been able to
hold up my end of the bargain to get into any of the finals, and I said it
was no fault of my own.

Q.  You're on a 14-match winning streak here, and you're on course to be a
three-time champion.  I mean, odds are pretty good in your favor now whoever
you face in the final.  It's a good place for you.  You're in a good space.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  That's so sweet.  Thank you (Laughter).  That's a great way
to think about it.
I feel good.  I have earned every win this week, and in the finals I have to
earn that one no matter who I play.  It's not like I'm going to step out
there and think, you know, that I've got the momentum or anything.  I've got
to create what's going to happen on the court.  That's what I'm going to look
to do.

Q.  What's the actual role of David?  Like your parents aren't here.  Is he
assumed being the coach here as opposed to hitting partner?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah.  He helps with everything.  That pretty much sums it
up.

Q.  What is it about this place?  I remember your moving speech about Shahar
Peer a few years ago.  Does   this place really bring the best out of you,
and why is that?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I was thinking about that the other day.  Obviously when I
come here I have a lot of memories.  I just applaud her courage really just
from her shoes just being able to come here and stay focused and perform so
well.  I just have so much admiration for her, really.  That's not easy.  A
lot of mental strength, true character, and a great player.

Q.  If you are to play Serena tomorrow, on a day when you're playing her in a
final, do you guys hang out until the very last minute before going to the
court?  Do you eat together?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Everybody asks that.  It's not a mystery.  We just prepare
whatever way we have been doing before.  Whatever that is, then we just do
that.  That's all.

Q.  What's on your schedule?  You're going to Miami?
VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, Miami, Charleston.  Fed Cup I will probably play.  I'm
not sure.  I think it might be during tournament week, but I'm very confused
about the calendar.

Q.  I think it's the 19th.
VENUS WILLIAMS:  I might be playing a tournament that week.  If I am, I won't
be able to go.  I would absolutely love to be able to play Fed Cup.  I wanted
to play this time but it was impossible.  I needed to play -- you know, I
needed to play these tournaments so I could get better, basically.  I really
wanted to play the tie in Cleveland but just wasn't able.

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