Lawn Tennis
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships And Cellular South Cup - Memphis 2007 Regions Morgan Keegan Ch'ships
And The Cellular South Cup

Memphis, Tennessee
February 16-25, 2007
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships And Cellular South Cup - Memphis 2007
Venus Williams Post-Match Semifinals Interview
Reporting From Onsite In Memphis, Tennessee
By Tripp Mateschitz, Lawn Tennis Correspondent, Posted: Saturday, February 24, 2007 8:44am CST USA
(Please do not copy/paste more than a few lines of this interview on other websites. Transcribed by lawntennismag.com.)
SF: V. Williams(7) def. I. Raluca Olaru 6-3, 6-2
Venus Williams Memphis 2007 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the 
Cellular South Cup
MEMPHIS--(lawntennismag.com) Question: Venus, it seemed like you moved up a little bit.
Venus Williams: Pardon me?

Question: Seemed like you moved up a little today.
Venus Williams: You know in some ways I guess so. I feel like in my previous matches, I've been really good when it really counted, and I played a lot of good shots. I played aggressively, but I hadn't been at my best keeping the pressure on. So today was definitely better at that. Although I don't feel that I played as aggressively as I wanted to, but you know.... can't have everything I guess.

Question: Could you have picked... Is this how you maybe hoped this week could go? To have a chance to play in the championships tomorrow and have a chance to win a title?
Venus Williams: Yea, it's been (laughs) it's been a long week. It's been a lot of matches for me. It's definitely very good for me to play these matches. Today I felt really a lot more comfortable on court, just normal.... just even with walking from point to point. So it just takes some time on the court. So I'm really, really blessed to have been able to play all these matches. I definitely need it. (unheard)

Question: Are you pleased with your serve? The way you're serving this week is definitely a strong point.
Venus Williams: Yea, I think... I'm definitely pleased with my serve. It comes when I need it, and I'm getting it to do lots of fun things (laughs).... pleased with my second serve. It has a lot of pace. It's pretty hard to attack. That's really really important also, I think, that having a high percentage of points... points won on the second serve.

Question: Obviously the goal is to sharpen your game and play a lot of matches. You've won huge tournaments before. Does even holding up the littler prizes (unheard)
Venus Williams: Well for me, every time I go to a tournament, I feel like I have the opportunity to win it. And I'm dissapointed if I walk away without the win, even if I'm like now, just coming back. So for me each and every one is important. Plus I have a history here, even though this tournament before was in Oklahoma, like this would be a third title for me here.

Question: You've never played, Venus, Peer, but she said she'd played your sister twice and lost twice so she hasn't had much success against the Williams. She said she has nothing to lose, despite being the top seed. How do you approach the match tomorrow, outside of just trying to do your thing?
Venus Williams: Well for me... I... like I said I'm blessed to be very healthy, and healthy enough to play (laughs). That's a plus for me. And that's how I think she should play, with nothing to lose.


Question: Did you watch your sister's match against Peer in Melbourne?
Venus Williams: Yes, I did.

Question: Do you think there's anything that you picked up from the match, strategy wise?
Venus Williams: I think that she does everything well. She moves well, fights hard. She does everything well. So I don't think there's any specific thing I'm going to have to watch out for. I don't think there's any specific thing that she's going to do to hurt me per say. She just does everything well.

Question: Is there a chance we could have any other part of the Williams contingent to (Venus Williams laughs) fly in to come tomorrow and watch this match?
Venus Williams: No, I... They would but they've seen so much tennis (laughs). They'll be updated by text messages I think by the contingency that is here. That's pretty much the standard. (laughs)

Question: So the lure of Graceland has no affect on them?
Venus Williams: (smiles) (sigh) Unfortunately, unfortunately.

Question: Are you not even thinking about your wrist anymore?
Venus Williams: Do I think about it? Maybe (laughs) but at the end of the day, in the match I've got to hit it. And the girls are playing way too well for me to think about it too much so...

Question: (unheard)
Venus Williams: Feeling good.

Question: Venus when you sat in that chair on Saturday, you said you were hoping the Memphis fans would come out because you thought you has something to show them. But there has not been this kind of reception for the women's tournament here in that six years it's been here...
Venus Williams: Really?

Question: How do you feel when you think about the packed houses and the cheering girls and tennis fans period that are out there lining the rope as you go out there? (For major top players only and for feature matches, two yellow ropes are held in place by security and ballkids in the hallway from the lockerroom to the stadium court to create a clear walk space.)
Venus Williams: Oh that's exciting. The fans lining the rope. I mean at that point I'm concentrating and getting ready for the match, and I don't have as much time to enjoy that as I'd like to. But it's really exciting. I was under the impression it was like this every year. (laughs)

Question: Well we have good tennis. But I mean the fans... there's just an energy about the building when you happen to be playing. Most of them are talking... it's usually Andy Roddick, Andy Roddick. But now it's Andy, Venus, Andy, Venus...
Venus Williams: Oh that's exciting. Yea I love that. That's exciting... makes me feel like I'm doing my job well too.

Question(Moderator): Do we have any more questions? Thank you very much.
Venus Williams: Thank you.


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