AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2008

Venus Williams

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Looked like a tough match on the score board. How did you assess it?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Definitely got to hit a lot of balls. She plays a really
feisty game, brings a lot of balls back, and a lot of balls low. And she was
definitely on her best tennis today. So she played well.

Q. A few unforced errors?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I had a few.

Q. Why was that?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Because I guess I made some mistakes.

Q. Is that the sort of game you need to bring you to your top, progress
further in the championship?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I mean, to be honest, at this point, I feel like I know how
to play tennis. And whether or not I have my best match or a match that's not
so good for me is not something that worries me for the next round.
So either way, it's just important for me to get to the next round. I feel
like I can always play better, even if I play well.

Q. You play Mirza in the next round. What you do you know of her? Have you
played her before?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, actually, I have. A little while ago. She's a good
player, also. She tries to play aggressive. Looks like she enjoys herself out
there.

Q. Venus, there was a lot of breaks of serve in the match. Were you concerned
about your serving?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No, not really. Like I said earlier, nothing worries me
anymore. I feel like I know how to play. If I make a few mistakes, I'm not
going to freak out.
I'm fine. I feel good.

Q. That kind of match is a good test for you, don't you think, because she
makes you play a lot of different shots, you use different parts of your
arsenal?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, she definitely played well. And at first, I think I
wanted to rush a little bit too much. But finally, later in the second set, I
finally realized, Whoa, she wants to run. Well, let her run. So it became a
side-to-side kind of thing, I finally got a little smarter in the last few
games, I felt.
So all in all, it was fine.

Q. You've been coming in a lot, which happened last couple years. Looks like
you're much more comfortable at net than you were, say, a decade ago?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, definitely, because I don't like practicing my volley.
I never did. Of course, you don't want to come to the net if you don't.
Practicing volleys is kind of boring.
So last time in the off-season, the first thing I did is I practiced volleys,
no excuses. So now I come in more because feel like volleying because I
practiced it.
I definitely will be at the net a lot more this year.

Q. Practicing against hard hitters all the time when you play. Against
Camille, she has a soft serve. Must be hard to get used to that.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, definitely. Even for us, like when I'm warming Serena
up, I'm trying to hit soft, it's hard because I don't know how to do that.
I'm always saying, Softer, softer. And they are missing because they don't
know how to hit the soft ball, which is a different kind of ball. If it's
soft and low, then you have to adjust. And just because it's slower doesn't
necessarily mean it's easier.

Q. She gave Sharapova a hard time last year. I don't know if you saw that
match. Why does she give people a difficult time?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think she'll challenge anyone that she plays. You
definitely have to beat her. She brings the ball back no matter. You have to
hit that winning shot. And she can pressure you into hitting it a little too
close to the line.

Q. I don't know if you talked about this on Day 1, but can you talk about
what happened towards the end of last year when you were forced to pull out
of The Championships and you were get getting those dizzy spells. What did
the doctors actually say?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I don't talk about that very much. I try to let it be
the past.

Q. But is it something that is going to continue to affect you, or was it
just a one off or...
VENUS WILLIAMS: I hope to God not.

Q. You don't want to say directly? Because there was some reports out there
that it might have been anemia.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I don't really like to talk about it, to be honest. I
just -- yeah, that's all I have to say.

Q. Venus, I'm doing a little feature on Mark Hlawaty. Can you express a
couple of words on what he means and how he fits in?
VENUS WILLIAMS: He's great. We're all jokesters. We all laugh and joke. We
all, you know, make fun of ourselves. So he fits right in. He works extremely
hard. I think he really cares about Serena and I. I think he loves tennis.
And right now he has, like, really great hair. So Serena and I were both very
upset. It was funny, because as soon as I got here to Melbourne, I was like,
Your hair is great; I hate it. Serena said, I said the same thing.
It's funny. We have a lot of fun with him.

Q. What's making his hair great?
VENUS WILLIAMS: We don't know why it's happened. He let it grow out. He said
it grew like that. We said, Are you serious? It's not fair. It's the perfect
color, the perfect cut. This can't be right.
But, you know, it's good fun.

Q. Fashion things aside, he's pretty handy as a hitting partner, as well. How
important is he to you girls?
VENUS WILLIAMS: He's great. He brings a lot of balls back. He can adjust his
game, depending on who we're playing. And he really is, you know, on our
side. No matter I think who he is with, I think he works hard for.

Q. Venus, I saw your sister's blog yesterday and she said she read 'Who Moved
My Cheese'. Do you read books like that or did she try to get you to read it?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I read that book. My dad told me to read it. And I think he
told her to read it, too. And I read it like around '05 Wimbledon, and I was,
like, praying for some inspiration. So then I read the book. And I was, like,
Okay, God answered my prayers.
Whatever you can be inspired from, I feel I can learn from anything. I
haven't read it in a couple years. She keeps quoting it.

Q. There aren't too many big hard court titles that have eluded you in your
career, if any. Do you bring that kind of awareness into a tournament like
this?
VENUS WILLIAMS: A little bit. Maybe a little bit, especially since I didn't
get to play last year. So definitely a little bit. But, I mean, I definitely
have the ability to win. That's the good part. So I feel positive in that way.

Q. How do you feel about television commentators making comments about your
rear-end? I mean, not in a negative way.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I think Serena is the Williams sisters that is famous
for her derrière. She makes all kinds of songs, Kanye West and Snoop Dog,
all kinds of things. She's renowned. So I guess I'm getting a one-up on her,
maybe. (laughter.)

Q. You have a doubles match coming up in a little while. How important is
that in the scheme of things? Are you trying to win in the doubles?
VENUS WILLIAMS: We're very serious about the doubles. We love doubles. Recent
years we haven't been lucky, so we're like, Okay, let's get through the
singles. But we love playing with each other. Nothing like playing with
Serena. It's like playing with myself. So it's amazing.
And we love winning the titles. I mean, when we were playing doubles, we were
racking them up. Grand Slam titles are wonderful things to have. We hope we
get to play more. We definitely are going to try to play a lot this year.

Q. When you came on the circuit a decade ago, you were only surrounded by
your family, your sister. You didn't have too many friends in the circuit.
How this has changed in the last 10 years? Do you have other people you like
to see outside of the tennis court, even if they are tennis players, or you
never see them?
VENUS WILLIAMS: It's a little bit hard. No one lives where I live, so in that
way it's a little bit challenging because everyone goes home after the
tennis, you know.
So I'm definitely friendly with a lot of girls, but it's not like we live in
the same area, and that makes it challenging.

Q. In the locker rooms, they're more friendly or let's say people you have
lunch together here if you have a chance or not?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, definitely. The girls are really nice. Everyone's nice.
I haven't met one, you know, person that was mean or that, you know, totally
gave me the evil eye or something.
Everybody's, you know, happy in the locker room. I mean, you lose, not so
happy, but everyone gets along.