Venus Williams defeats Anabel Medina Garrigues
6-4, 7-5
Quarterfinals

AMY BINDER: Questions for Venus, please.

Q. Venus, you were down 0-3 in the second set, and then you just kind of got
back on a roll. How did it go from there?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I just felt that my feet were just not moving as much, and I
wasn't as dedicated to hitting as many balls as I needed to. And especially
against a player like her on this surface, it's definitely a balance between
playing the aggressive game I want to play, but also hitting enough balls to
get to that point. So I just felt like I'm not losing this set but "come on,
V," get with it.

Q. A couple of times in there it looked like there were some balls didn't
look like you were going to be able to make it to them and you kind of got
there, got the crowd excited. Are you ever impressed with yourself or what
you're able to do or surprised I was able to get that one?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I expect that from myself. I'm a professional tennis player.
I'm supposed to make anything happen on the court, no excuses. And obviously
especially for the crowd those are the exciting points, and for me I try not
to yell and scream too loud because then you're winded from the next point
because you're yelling and screaming.

Q. Venus, you and Jankovic have really kind of until today sort of breezed
through, and now you'll meet each other tomorrow. Can you talk about that
semifinal?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah. It's a good match. We both played obviously well to get
to the semifinals, so I'm looking forward to playing the same kind of tennis,
aggressive and with some patience.

Q. It seemed like you were kind of the crowd favorite there, and you've been
very popular here. Can you kind of feel that love and do you think it's going
to continue as you play on?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah. For sure. Everyone's been really supportive here ever
since I started playing here, and even before I ever came to play Family
Circle, Serena was always telling me how the crowd was really supportive. So
I look forward to that when I walk on the court.

Q. Venus, did you know this was going to be a tougher match today, because
you breezed through the first ones. Did you know going in you were going to
have a handful?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I've never played her before, so obviously I expected to
stick to the same game plan I've had, but I guess I didn't expect it to be as
tough, and I think that I just started making a string of errors there that
made it tough for me. There were a few games that went so fast. So that
doesn't always help, but she's a really good player, especially on this
surface.

Q. Venus, this is the farthest you've come since you won back in '04. Do you
think this is your year?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Always one step at a time. I'd love it to be my year here. I
like having the big picture up when you drive in. It's all very exciting.
It's exciting to win matches, exciting to be on tour and not injured and in
exile watching it on TV. So I'm enjoying every moment.

Q. Venus, what does it mean to you to be part of the Family Circle Cup that's
only for women, no men allowed? VENUS WILLIAMS: I see a few men in here.

Q. Players.

VENUS WILLIAMS: The women's tour is a wonderful place. We have lots of
tournaments that are obviously women only, and I don't know, I love it. I
love American clay court season. It's too short.

Q. Just out of curiosity, I notice you've kind of been wearing the same
outfit a couple of matches. Your opponent you just played apparently wears
the same outfit each match kind of superstitiously. Do you have any similar
superstition?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. I got rid of my superstitions because I realized that
it's not the outfit. It's probably the 20 odd years of hard work. So yeah, I
let those go back in the 90s.

Q. Venus, you said in the beginning of the second set your feet just weren't
moving. Were you just kind of tired at that point?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know what I was. It's just definitely a constant
focus, especially for me coming back on tour. I have to focus a little bit
more, and for me I think this week everything is starting to flow a lot more.
I'm starting to hit closer to the lines and just do all the things that I'm
used to doing, so it's just me reminding myself what I need to do, and it's
coming.

Q. Venus, can you talk about that point of the match basically in the second
set? You were down 3-0 and you came back. You know which one I'm talking
about. You ran and got the ball and ripped a winner. Can you just talk about
that point? You had some really amazing shot.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, it was so exciting, because I needed the point. I think
that was to get a game, and a game makes a huge difference. I just told
myself, you know, just hold and break and it's even, and so I definitely felt
confident once that point was over.

Q. Does Serena call you and say "nice win today"? Have you guys talked any
more this week?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah. I caught up with her. We talk a lot by email, too, and
she gave me some pointers against Chan, and that really helped out a lot, and
we talked a little bit about this match, too. I told her who I play. We've
both never played her before. And Serena was like "I always wanted to play
her." So I'll have to tell her how it went.

AMY BINDER: Thank you.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Thank you.