BARCLAYS DUBAI TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN

February 17, 2010

Venus Williams

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

V. WILLIAMS/O. Govortsova
7-5, 6-0

Q. Well, compared to your first match on Tuesday night, you started very
sluggishly tonight, didn't you?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I started the match with a double break. Wasn't ideal,
but I just had to just start from where I was and not get frustrated about
it. And obviously the match before me, I was able to see that you can come
back from anything.
I stayed focused and I was really happy to win the first set, because,
obviously, I felt even more, the odds are better in the second set with me
and with my experience and everything, my level of play.

Q. Then you just ran away with it. Once you'd taken that first set, her
spirit seemed to disappear then, didn't it?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, she definitely tried to hang in there. But I felt like
I got more first serves in. I was able to move forward a lot better, and I
think I started to flow a little more.
You know, she did make a few errors maybe trying to press. But, obviously,
everything went the way I wanted it to in the second.

Q. Any idea why that happens that sometimes you start slowly?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Everybody sometimes has a slow start. I want everything to be
perfect, but when it isn't, that's what makes the real champions is to find a
way how to turn it around. So each match you have to deal with each set of
situations.
Hopefully, that said, it's perfect. But at this point I know it never will be
perfect.

Q. Was there any change in your tactics through the match? Did you change
your game plan because of the way it started?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think a little from the front. I wanted to just hit
winners a little bit. And I quickly had to realize that mentality is not
going to work, so just try to work the point a little more.
She hits a lot of deep balls, so a lot of times I wasn't able to maybe move
the ball around as much, and I found myself running and I really want her to
run. So kind of tried to turn the table.

Q. Two of the top players didn't show up here, and the other two lost today.
Does that make you a really hot favorite to win this again now?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, I don't know. I guess maybe it does, doesn't it
(laughing)? But it's not a given, and I know that. So I will still be just as
focused even though the players -- and learn that those players that lost
played against players who, you know, they probably didn't think they were
going to lose to today. But it happens, so you have to really be alert.

Q. You're here with your father. Can you tell us how much time you spend with
him on the courts and, you know, at this stage of your career, do you still
feel you have things to learn?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, absolutely things to learn, ways to get better, things to
really pinpoint.
The thing about tennis is if you stay off two weeks, three days, you can lose
your rhythm quickly. So it's just constant diligence and vigilance and all of
that. So I'm always on the court with my dad, you know.
I'm not training five hours on the court, because that would be like
counterproductive to a nice, long career. But I put in the time and it pays
off.

Q. Does he help you with stretches going into matches with different
opponents?
VENUS WILLIAMS: The strategy might change a little bit with each opponent.
But I try to think of myself in my own world, my own bubble on my side of the
court and just playing the ball. More and more and more these days I think
less and less and less of who is across the net. It just doesn't appeal to
me. I'm just really about what I'm doing, so it's actually comforting.

Q. You've played your opponent today before. Are you saying if you play a new
opponent, you don't really necessarily worry?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, if it's a new opponent, I do watch what they're doing.
To be honest by the time the warm-up is over, and the first couple of games I
have a really good feel for what is happening.
Someone like her, she's young. You never know what the difference is going to
be with her game in six months. So I was definitely curious to see if she had
any new patterns or what have you.

Q. Shahar Peer said today how much she appreciated the help that you gave her
last year and that she'd been to see you to thank you for that. Have you
spoken to her much?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I literally haven't even seen her. It's so funny, because it
seems like out of all the players I've seen her the least amount.
I mean, she's just a brave -- she's got so much character. I can't imagine
being in her shoes. I can't imagine playing so well with this kind of
circumstance. I mean, I just give her congratulations and props. She's
courageous. I don't think anyone else on tour could do what she's doing.

Q. Last night you said you had two plates of pasta for your dinner. What was
it for tonight's dinner?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I had to avoid the pasta today. It's potatoes. I hate pasta.
Just thinking about it just stresses me out. I hate it. When I'm off tour, I
don't eat the stuff, but when I'm here, I do. I hate it. It makes me really
unhappy (laughing). Don't laugh. It really makes me unhappy.

Q. So is it just one plate tonight then?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm avoiding it tonight. But I'll have another one tomorrow
right before the match. It's terribly sad.

Q. Why do you eat it if you don't like it?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, the energy. I guess it sticks to you better, and the
lounge usually there's only pasta. Sometimes there's rice, but that's it.
Pasta and maybe some chicken, and that's just the option.

Q. Have you tried requesting something different? They might help?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No, most players like it. It's just I'm the odd-ball that
doesn't like it. So if it was up to me, I'd just eat like some meat and
vegetables, but I'd be out of energy after about five games, so, yeah. Thank
you.

End of FastScripts