DONGFENG MOTOR WUHAN OPEN

October 1, 2015

Venus Williams

WUHAN, CHINA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You were down a break in that final set. Talk about those last few games.
What were you telling yourself and how did you turn it around?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I don't know what I was telling myself. Just the match
is never over until it's over. And, you know, she was playing really well. I
just thought maybe she'll miss some, maybe I'll make some, and try to keep
serving.
But definitely I had a terrible call at Love-15. I just tried not to let it
unravel. You know, in these tournaments you definitely get used to having a
challenge, and sometimes when you're working hard, you feel like you earn a
point, and you don't get it, it can be challenging.
But thankfully it all balanced out.

Q. It was impressive just how well you were defending in the last few games,
really using your legs after such a grueling match. Talk about balancing
being aggressive and hitting your shots, going big versus she was kind of
slugging away as well?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, today I was definitely waiting on a few errors which
didn't come from her side. I thought she was moving the ball around. I
definitely feel like I can rely on my speed when I have to defend. There were
definitely some good defense shots today. Maybe not my best day on the court,
but that's when I have to dig deep.

Q. Are you thinking about Singapore at all and possibly being able to qualify?
VENUS WILLIAMS: That would be cool.

Q. It can happen.
VENUS WILLIAMS: It can happen. But I got to work on it. It's not going to
happen automatically. So it's match by match.
But it's not like it's kind of like freaked me out. I'm used to pressure and
playing for an opportunity. So it could happen.

Q. Quick question about Serena, who pulled out of the rest of the season
today. As a person who probably knows her best in the world, what do you
think she's going through right now?
VENUS WILLIAMS: What happened now?

Q. She said that she was going to withdraw from the Beijing Open [sic] and
Singapore.
VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm aware that she's withdrawn from Beijing, but I'm not sure
what her plans are for the rest of the season.
So, I mean, she won everything. So if she don't feel like playing, she has
issues, you got to rest sometimes. It's unimaginable what it's like to win
that much. It's hard on you. It's hard on your body. I've had that problem
before. It's a great problem. But just you get down to nothing.

Q. You faced many, many players in your career. What do you think about
Konta, the way she's playing lately? How do you assess how far she can go?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I really haven't seen her play this year. I think she
had a lot of self-belief out there and she had a lot of focus. I thought that
was really impressive, especially playing against opponents that have more
experience than her, who have been in these situations before. I thought she
handled herself really, really well.
That last game, I thought I played a great game. Mostly first serves in.
Still found myself down 15-40 due to her play. So clearly things are working
for her. It's good to see.

Q. Next up is Roberta Vinci, someone you saw last month. Talk about the
prospect of playing her and what you expect.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Completely different match than today. But thankfully I'm
comfortable at all speeds and levels of play. I've got the experience under
my belt.
After today I can only play better, I feel like.

Q. Her game, Petra Kvitova struggled with it, Karolina Pliskova struggled
with it, the soft-paced balls. Obviously against opponents like that you're
experienced. What is the mentality and game plan?
VENUS WILLIAMS: My game plan is to make my shot. So that's pretty much it. As
long as you are the last one either making the shot or your opponent's
missing, that's how it works.
I feel good about going out tomorrow and executing my game.
Thank you. Good night.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports