THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS


March 24, 1998


Venus Williams

KEY BISCAYNE, FLORIDA


Q. Venus, would you prefer a tougher match before facing Martina?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, if I would have preferred a tougher match, I wasn't
going to play anybody else besides Serena today, so you get what you have.


Q. Can you talk about your performance tonight? Did you feel comfortable,
fluid? Are you where you want to be at this point in the tournament?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I definitely think I could have played better. I think I was
making some errors. I lost serve twice, which is no good at all. Sometimes I
was making errors for no reason at all. Hitting too many short balls also. I
can make up for that since I'm kind of speedy. But in the end, that's no
good. Get yourself in trouble a lot. So I think I'm going to have to make
some adjustments.


Q. Seeing your sister come so close to beating Hingis, what's your attitude
about playing her?

VENUS WILLIAMS: The same as always. I have to go out there and play the
player, not anything else. That's what I will do. Most of all, I think it's
important that I go out there relaxed and just ready to play, not
overplanning or overpracticing, because I already can play, I've already
practiced all these years for this.


Q. Did you learn anything from the way your sister played Martina today? Did
you pick anything up from that?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think Serena went out there and played her game, which is
important. Sometimes people play the top players, they feel, "I have to do
this, I have to do that, this is the side I'm going to hit to." In all
honesty, you don't have to do that. Just go out there and play your game. I
think Serena did that. I think she gave a good example for me.