U.S. OPEN


August 28, 2010


Venus Williams

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How is your health heading into the tournament?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, going into the tournament I didn't have, you know, the
ideal preparation but, um, kind of just had to mentally be ready to play
without having played any matches.
So, you know, gotten to hit balls in the court and get ready, and looking
forward to next week.

Q. Without Serena in the draw, who I imagine a lot of people have regarded as
the favorite if she'd have been here, do you feel this is one of the more
open US Opens you've been a part of?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I mean, I guess as a player I don't really think of it that
way. I'm just trying to win whoever I play against. It really is as simple as
that.

Q. What were your thoughts when you realized the extent of Serena's injury?
VENUS WILLIAMS: That, you know, it just gets better soon.

Q. What have been your observations of her injury and her recovery process?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm not here to talk about her injury. You have to talk to
her about that. You're not going to get in with me. Sorry, guys.

Q. You said you didn't have the ideal preparation, but what have you been
doing to prepare the last couple of weeks?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Just trying to stay in the gym and stay strong that way.
Really everything I could do in the gym.

Q. Is the knee allowing you to move better than it did a few weeks ago?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, absolutely. I can definitely move a lot better now, so
it's taking a turn for the better.

Q. What were your thoughts, if you've seen the Roger Federer video that seems
to be a rage on the Internet where he knocks an object twice off somebody's
head with a serve?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I never heard of it. It sounds amazing. I don't know.
(Laughter.)

Q. John McEnroe made some comments the other day that basically that women
were playing too much for their own good and that's why they're having so
many injuries. Do you have any thoughts on that?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No. Actually, I don't.

Q. Any thoughts on the season or...
VENUS WILLIAMS: I mean, if we're talking about the season, I feel like our
season is good. You know, we do have two months off and our tournaments are
-- the bigger tournaments are, you know, I think planned a lot better than
what they were. People do want to play the bigger events. That's good for the
players and the fans and the tournaments.
So when injuries happen or if you don't plan your schedule in a way that's
conducive to being healthy, I mean, of course it's bad luck too if you get
injured, so...
But as far as his comments, I don't have any comment on that.

Q. Would you consider finding another doubles partner to compete with this
year?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No. I mean, this would have been a perfect opportunity to
play mixed. I really want to, but I just need to play one event right now.

Q. Could you quantify what percentage of your full fitness that you feel
you're in at the moment?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I don't get into quantifying. I really focus on that
moment that I've got to compare, Oh, I'm at this level than I was before.
Because really it's really about being in the moment and playing that point
and regardless of if you're where you want to be or not exactly, finding a
way to win.
So that's pretty much where I'm focused on. It's kind of a more mature
outlook, in a way.

Q. Can you reveal the outfit you will wear for the US Open?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, next week. (Laughter.)
It's been a lot of fun. People are going to be start looking forward to what
I'm going to wear. I had a lot of fun designing it. I mean, I missed getting
to wear my summer outfit, too. In any case, it will be a lot of fun.

Q. How are you enjoying being an owner of the Dolphins? Any predictions for
the season?
VENUS WILLIAMS: It's coming up really soon and preseason has been going
solid. Last year we came pretty close to getting to the playoffs. Wow, it's
so exciting. I'm just ready for football season.

Q. How would you describe your level of confidence going into this tournament
given your physical status?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I feel good. I feel good mainly because I've played so many
matches in my career that I feel like I can bank on the experience. I know
how to hit the ball. I feel like I'm hitting a pretty clean shot right now.
Plus, you know, theoretically I've had more rest than everyone. I should be
fresh.

Q. Given your involvement in the tour, did you have any reaction to John
McEnroe's comments about women, how they've been able to handle the mental
and physical aspects?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No, no comment.

Q. What are your thoughts on Wozniacki's game? How would you describe it for
somebody just getting familiar with the No. 1 seed here?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, she's really improved a lot since the first time I
played her quite a few years ago, I think maybe three years ago.
Really added some power into her game; moves very well; plays smart; really
shows a lot of maturity on the court, both with her choice and mental
capacity, hanging in there to stay tough.
Really a nice all-around player who can make anything happen on the court.

Q. How will it be different on and off the court for you playing at a Grand
Slam without Serena being here?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, it happens every now and then one of us will miss one.
I mean, it's not the same, and we really miss playing doubles. You know, we
definitely don't take that for granted, because now we realize how great it
is to win in doubles and to win together, too.
You know, next year hopefully we'll both have -- be together and be able to
play again hopefully as soon as the Australian Open or Beijing.

Q. Do you follow Tiger Woods' comeback? What are your thoughts about the way
he's handled all of his problems?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Um, I think everyone -- I mean, I don't watch any golf, but I
do hear about it.
The guy's a great player. I mean, everyone wants to be like him. Everyone in
America loves golf, and they want to hit as hard as he does and play the
mental game that he does.
You know, maybe he's had some trying times, but he's a champion. I don't know
what he's doing this week, but hopefully well.

Q. Are you rooting for him?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, of course. Yeah, of course.
I think it's important -- you know, what he does on the course is fantastic,
and I think we all deserve to have some privacy in our lives. The way the
media is these days it's not easy, but it's hard these days.

End of FastScripts