Eastbourne AEGON International. June 16 2011 Venus Williams

D. HANTUCHOVA/V. Williams

           

6‑2, 5‑7, 6‑2

        

        

VENUS WILLIAMS

        

            Q.  Difficult conditions out there, Venus?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, today was really tough.  It was hard to capitalize on the serve.  Right up until the last point, I took my racquet back and the wind blew it forward.  I was like, Oh, no.  I think I probably even said, Oh, no.

            But, you know, it wasn't as predictable out there, but I give her credit to hanging there.  Pretty much on a day like today, you just have to hang in there.

            Q.  She got a lot of balls back.

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, she got a lot of balls back.  I think she had a lot of extra motivation, too.  We have been playing I don't know how many years.  I'm sure she had a lot of extra motivation to get a win against me after a long, long time.  She played some good tennis most of the time.

            Q.  Do you think you've had enough grass court practice for Wimbledon?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I do.  Yeah, I played a lot of matches here, spent a lot of time on the court.

            It's not the best luck today, but I feel good about my preparation.

            Q.  I suspect it's not very often you hit a serve and it comes off the frame and goes...

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, not very often.  It's windy, too.  It's just hit or miss if you are going to get a good toss and the wind is blowing it and sometimes you're chasing after it.  So, you know, just bad luck.

            Q.  You seemed to play a bit better when the sun came out.  In the second set I think you broke back after the sun came out again.

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah.  Today I just continued to try to work on my game and continued to try to move forward when I could.  Not exactly the cleanest tennis.

            But I'm ‑‑ you know, I don't know.  It's much nicer when it's sunny, I guess, as opposed to cloudy.

            Q.  Do you feel you came out a little bit slow?  You seemed a little bit sluggish in the first set.

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I definitely wish I could have came out harder.  I think she was a little bit tentative in the beginning, and then to lose serve wasn't ideal, but I definitely thought I was gonna break back.

            That didn't work out the way I wanted to.

            Q.  How are you physically feeling?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I feel good, but I'm definitely happy that I'm going to have a couple of days to rest and prepare for Wimbledon.

            And I feel really positive about my matches here.  I thought I played pretty good.  I thought more than anything I was able to get a lot of great competition.  This has been ideal.

            Yeah, I would have liked to have gotten a win here, but there are a lot of positives I'm taking out of this.

            Q.  What's it like when you have been out for a few months and then start playing again?  You must be sore and stiff in the morning.

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  There's nothing like playing matches.  It doesn't matter how hard you push yourself in practice, there's nothing like a match.

            So definitely it's important to acclimate, and that's why it was crucial for me to get the opportunity for me to play three matches here.

            That was, you know, all I was dreaming of.  More than anything, I think a lot of times I played really well down.  You know, even today, even though I lost today, it was good to have the opportunity to, you know, not necessarily be up in the match but continue to come back.  It was all good experience.

            Q.  Are you surprised at the speed of your progress considering how long you have been out?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I tried to work as hard as I could coming back.  It was definitely a long and slow road, but, you know, no pressure on me right now.  It's just all about improving my game, and not only in the next tournament round by round but for the rest of the year.  There's still quite a few big ones coming up.

            So I am pleased.  I know every day I get better.

            Q.  Is that how you feel about Wimbledon now?  You're going in there under no pressure, sort of under the radar, really?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, the only pressure I have is the pressure I put on myself.  I feel ‑‑ you know, I feel I'm a good player.  A lot of people think I'm a good player, so that helps out a lot.

            Q.  You have only played Grand Slams for the last year or so.  Is that going to be the future or...

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  You know, I played the Majors because they were important to me, not necessarily because I was actually prepared to play.  Finally at the French, you know, I was honest with myself, but to be honest, I was nowhere near ready to play any kind of tennis on a professional level.  Quite possibly on a recreational level I could have played against my physio or something, but she's a beginner.  (Laughter.)

            But, you know, I really didn't want to come back this time until I felt like I had some fighting chance.  I always come out and play well but really not healthy.  And I tried to give myself a good chance this time to be able to have at least a healthy match, you know.

            Q.  Why do you think you're able to, after such a long time out, to come back and play as well as you have, and Serena?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Because I'm determined.  I believe I can do this.

            Q.  A lot of players couldn't, could they?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I'd like to think I don't need as many matches as the next player.  I've never historically played a lot, a lot of matches.

            So for me I know I need to hit the ground running because I'm not going to enter extra tournaments.  So I don't have a chance to play as much as the next player, so I know I've got to do this now.

            Q.  Would you have come back so soon if it hadn't been Wimbledon?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  That's a good question.  I probably may have had a couple more weeks.

            But this is Wimbledon, after all.  So I didn't want to miss it.  But regardless, I think I'm playing pretty well.

            Q.  You said when you arrived that you were determined to try and win Wimbledon this year.  Having played your matches here ‑‑ that was before you played your first match.  How do you feel now?  Are you still as determined you're going to  win?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I think what I said is I'm determined to win every match I play, so regardless of Wimbledon or Eastbourne, I'm determined to win that match.  I don't just come out and say, Gosh, you know, looks like she's playing well.  Maybe, I don't know, hang it up today.

            That's not how it goes.  I come out, come out to win, bring my best game and be extremely competitive and most of the time it works out.

            Q.  What are you going to do the next few days, go straight up to Wimbledon tonight and be on the practice courts tomorrow?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, things have gone by so fast.  I will spend some time just recovering.  There were a lot of hours put on the court this week, a lot of hours on the grass leading up.

            So I definitely, like I said, took a lot of positives out of this.  Even though I didn't win, it gave me the opportunity to kind of get ready for Wimbledon now. I'm going to go do that.

            Q.  Are you going to physically be at Wimbledon tomorrow?  Are you going to be staying there tonight?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  No big choices yet.

            Q.  Dinner in Southwest England? 

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  It's still a mystery right now.  If you have any suggestions, let me know.

            Q.  Do you and Serena, in the days before a match, spend much time together?  Or do you get into your own bubbles really and have your own focus?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I don't know.  We just hang out like normal sisters. And encourage each other right to the end unless we play each other, and hopefully I hope maybe she won't play as well, or usually I hope so, but it usually doesn't work out that way.  You know, we just hang out.

            Q.  She said yesterday she didn't want to meet you too early in the tournament, but you could, with the seedings, could be early as third round, couldn't it?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah, you never know.

            Q.  You don't mind?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I just gotta do what I have to do regardless of who's against the net.  That's pretty much how I see it right now.  I've just got to grind it out and be on my game.

            If it's her, hopefully, you know, hopefully I'll play well.

            Q.  What have you and Serena done to help each other?  You know, what have you said to each other?  What have you done to each other through the bad times?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Well, we always encourage each other by singing a lot of songs.  We sing a lot at home.  You know, I'll wake up and I'll hear some singing in the living room.  I know that she feels good in her heart when she sings and I'll sing a song for her.

            Q.  What do you sing?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Many, many songs.  I specialize in '80s and alternative rock.  (Laughter.)

            I sing Tears for Fears, I sing Blondie, I sing OMD, I sing Michael Jackson.  I sing ‑‑ I sing a lot of '80 songs; Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, although I'll never let you hear me sing that.

            So I think crazily enough singing has been very positive for us.  I don't know if you ever tried it, but it makes you feel pretty good.

            I think another big motivation, too, is I can hear when she goes to practice because the door beeps.  Then I know I have to get up and go, too.

            I think she feels the same way.  If she hears the door beep, Oh, Venus went to practice.  I better get up.  I think that's huge motivation for each other.

Eastbourne AEGON International. June 15 2011 Venus Williams

V. WILLIAMS/A. Ivanovic

           

6‑3, 6‑2

        

VENUS WILLIAMS

        

  

            Q.  How do you feel about that one?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah.  Today, you know, I felt ‑‑ obviously it's great, no breaks of serve.  That's ideal for me in the match.  To get a double break at the end just feels awesome.

            I was really happy to have those clean service games and not a lot of errors.  To be honest, I thought she played really well.  When she had a chance to strike the ball she was hitting the corners.

            I felt good to be able to get on top of her today.

            Q.  Do you feel like this is still a work in progress?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I'm focusing on all the positives, and I think there's a lot of positives, because especially taking the amount of time off I have taken, it's so important to focus on those positives.  It's so easy to focus on, oh, I was this, that, and the other, you know, when I was in the game before, few months ago.

            Right now I feel that I'm playing very tough, and I'm playing well on big points.  I just need to continue.  These matches have been huge and crucial for me to just get back in the swing of ‑‑ literally the swing of things.

            Q.  Has it gone as well as you expected it to?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I was just hoping not to be injured, honestly.  The first match was definitely kind of nerve‑wracking, hoping to come off the court on two legs. That was the first goal.

            Then to win a match is the ultimate goal.  Just to have the opportunity to play another match is a great start.  I'm starting to have a couple of dominos on some of my goals here.

            I'm excited to be able to play a third match.  I just need matches.

            Q.  What have you made of Eastbourne these last few days?  It's obviously a bit different to New York or London or Paris.

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Absolutely.  But when the sun shines, it's gorgeous.  I don't remember too much from when I was ‑‑ from back in the days.  I remember it rained a lot, so we were forced to stay in.  We didn't really get to do anything, just kind of waiting to practice, waiting to play a match.

            This year I have had opportunity to go out a little bit more.  I quite like it, actually.

            Q.  What have you been doing?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I took a walk around town a little bit.  I had a couple karaoke spots, but I didn't get a chance to go.

            Q.  When you come back like this, does the freshness of returning to tennis almost make up for the fact you haven't been playing week in and week out?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I don't know.  I think definitely a lot of it, I definitely ‑‑ I have to make sure I stay focused.

            I think when I was playing before, I was so used to being focused and concentrated on every point that I really have to remind myself out there, Stay focused, stay in the moment, and not to let anything wander around my mind and technique.

            All the opponents I'm playing are very tough.  This draw is tough.  I can't get away from that in a moment.  Hopefully being fresh will help me.

            Q.  Is it harder to get focused after a break?  Do you find it...

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  No, not really.  The moment you lose focus, you see a ball go by you, so I'm right back in.

            Everyone is playing so well, everyone is serving well, returning well, playing focused.  There is no room to lose it.

            Q.  I don't know if you know the Wimbledon seedings from today?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  No, I don't.

            Q.  Serena has been seeded 8; you have been seeded 24.  Did you hope you'd be seeded higher?  You have won it five times.

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  No, I didn't hope anything at all.  I just hoped to be able to play.  That's it.

            Q.  You're not worried about where you're seeded?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  No, not at all.  I just want to be in the draw.

            Q.  Potentially if you and Serena have those seedings, you could play as early as round 3 if you both win early matches.

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  Yeah.  I mean, I'm still in this tournament, so that's pretty much my focus.  I mean, for me, a seeding is not a big deal.

            Q.  You can still win it anyway, can't you, wherever you are in the draw?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I'll do my best to win each and every match.  I know that.

            Q.  It looks like Kim Clijsters is injured for a couple of weeks.  Is that important that she will not compete at Wimbledon?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I don't know.  I have had my own issues.  I most certainly can't focus on anyone else's.

            I wish everyone luck with their injuries, but I'm really trying to do me.  I'm just trying to get there myself.

            Q.  How are you physically now?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I feel good.  I'm really taking a lot of extra precautions on and off the court.  So that way I can continue to rise in my form with each match.

            But so far, so good.  I feel better than I expected.

            Q.  Could you sort of elaborate on what the precautions are?  Extra stretching?  Is it painkillers?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  It's extra of everything.  Extra, extra with everything, strawberries and cream on top.  (Laughter.)

            Q.  Why do you still keep doing it?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  You see, I love this game, so plus, you know, I really have no say when I get injured.  It just happens.  It's not something that I could control, so definitely I want to be in control of my career, my destiny.

            Q.  You came out to support Serena yesterday.  What did you make of her performance?

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  I thought her opponent played just stellar.  She was just going for it, and it's a tough match in the first match back.  I thought she really showed a lot of fight and concentration to win that match.

            That wasn't an easy one, especially after the first set, because her opponent's shots were just landing everywhere.  I thought she did a great job.

            Q.  Quite unusual for her to lose a set 6‑1.  Doesn't happen for her often.

            VENUS WILLIAMS:  No, it doesn't.  A year off, it's probably ‑‑ you'd probably expect to have a couple of cobwebs and figure things out.  She's a champion.  Champions adjust.

                       

Eastbourne AEGON International. June 11 2001. Venus Williams

AEGON International

Venus Williams

Q: Venus, that was a bit of a coincidence wasn’t it? Drawing Petkovic in the first round.

Venus: Oh really?

Q: Unfinished business or…

Venus: I did get injured against her and really just couldn’t compete but I’m looking forward to my first round, this is exciting.

Q: How does it feel to be back?

Venus: I’m very excited to be back. I can’t believe I finally made it back. It’s been a very long road and I haven’t played here for ever and I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been to come and play and just be playing any first round match anywhere.

Q: Venus, is this the toughest injury period you have been through?

Venus: I’ve had some tough injuries for sure but definitely I didn’t think it would take me this long to be able to come back and to be ready. I never anticipated that I would be sat at home just watching instead of out here. I never could have foreseen the amount of time I had to take off. There were some frustrating moments but I never let it get me down.

Q: Was there any game you watched in particular that made you think ‘I wish I was playing in that’?

Venus: I wish I was playing every match but I made the best use of my time when I was off and I did my best to stay fit and when I couldn’t be on court. I was doing some arms exercises and that was that. This time I listened to doctors’ advice for the most part and it’s hard as an athlete to accept limits and for me it was definitely about accepting limits. I don’t want to be in a situation I was in in Australia, that was very painful and my goal was to come back and hopefully not be in that situation.

Q: Was the hip the worst injury Venus or were there other things that were a problem as well?

Venus: No, obviously my injury from Australia definitely limited me so that was my issue these past few months and that was pretty much it.

Q: Venus, do you think that the women’s game has missed the presence of yourself and your sister?

Venus: I hope so. I’ve missed tennis. Tennis has been so kind to me, I love this sport, I love my job as I call it, it’s good to be here, I feel appreciative and it’s an honour to be a professional athlete. Of course I do hope that I have given enough to my sport that I means something when I am not here. Hopefully it means even more when I am here.

Q: It’s very exciting for Eastbourne that we’ve got both the Williams sisters making their comeback here.

Venus: I know.

Q: Are you excited to have your sister here as well?

Venus: Absolutely because I had no idea that she was going to make it back. I had hopes of when I could return and every time I had a hope it kinda passed by so it’s pretty ironic that we had the opportunity to be here at the same time. I’d ask her ‘Gosh, do you think you are going to make Eastbourne?’ and she’d say ‘Yeah’ and I’d say ‘I hope I make Eastbourne too’.

Q: It’s the first time you have played in Sussex for 13 years so why did you and Serena both pick Eastbourne this year?

Venus: I think this is crucial for us. Serena hasn’t played in a year, I’ve played three or four tournaments in a 12 month period so for us it is just crucial for us to be able to play these key matches at this tournament and be able to do these leading in to Wimbledon. Normally we take this period after the French Open to go home and rest and train – that has been the best for us – but this year the best preparation has been to be here so I think as soon as I missed the French Open I set my sights on being here.

Q: We have been speaking to Caroline Wozniacki this week and she has been very complementary about yourself and Serena. She says she goes to you whenever she needs advice. What advice have you given her?

Venus: I don’t think she needs much advice. She’s a great player, a young woman doing positive things in her life. She’s a very nice person too so I think she is really on the right road. I don’t think there is much I can tell her.

Q: What is she like as a person and a player?

Venus: Obviously an unbelievable competitor and as a person, very personable and just super helpful and just willing to help anyone at any time and it’s great to see that combination of a great person off the court and so competitive on the court.

Q: Critics of Wozniacki have said how can she be world number one when she hasn’t won a Grand Slam. Do you think she is the best player in the world?

Venus: I think she has played more consistently than anyone that’s definitely been proven. I’m not here to start talking about that though, I just feel like she is number one at the moment and she seems to be leaps and bounds ahead of everyone in the points so I think that speaks for itself.

Q: Venus, speaking to you as a senior citizen myself, you’ll be having your 31^st birthday next Friday I think. Is it possible this could be for you, you’re getting to Wimbledon as a last chance this year. Or do you see yourself coming back again?

Venus: Well, I was a last chance person coming out of Compton and I felt once I succeeded out of there, I was able to create lots and lots of chances.

For me at this point I am just focussing on staying healthy and keep improving my game, ensure my game improves every week and just go from there.

Q: Looking ahead to Wimbledon, where do you realistically rate your and your sister’s chances coming back at that level?

Venus: I would say Serena and I always believe in ourselves and for us that is a huge plus. Just continue to stay focussed, it’s not about winning, it’s not about losing. For us, winning part of the battle is just about being healthy and just being smart in our preparation and in terms of winning these tournaments, that’s what we are here for.

We’re not here for results so we are going to do our best to take home two titles on this road now whether it can happen, yet remains to be seen. But that’s what we aim for every time we hit the court.

Q: Do you this in a sense that, weirdly, you have an advantage over player who have been knocking balls for rest of the season that you are coming fresh mentally as well as physically?

Venus: I’ll take any advantage I can get whatever it is, if it is an advantage, put a checkmark by my name. I’m not sure what it is, but it is what it is for us – it’s just great to be on tour.

Q: Who do you see as your strongest opponent – Li Na has been in two Grand Slam finals, won thr French, who do you feel is the most dangerous person to play at Wimbledon?

Venus: I don’t think that way at all. Whoever is across the net is my focus at that point – you just can’t predict who is going to do what. That’s what tournaments are so my whole concern is make sure I’m in the next round and that’s all I ever care about. I really just try to focus on me.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your progress from the injury. How long you were completely inactive, when you got back on the practice court and when you realised when you were going to be able to play this tournament.

Venus: I got injured in January and I entered school classes and I went into the gym and tried to do my rehab every day. The gym was a huge part of me, just riding the bike or whatever I could slowly and I just went to school and I worked on my businesses and that was interesting.

Initially my goal was to hopefully play in Miami but I wasn’t even close. Then I really started trying to return to the court in April but really just light practices, every other day.

It took me a good two and a half months to build up to get here now. Some weeks I wouldn’t improve for three weeks and then sometimes I would improve in a week. It’s a slow process and not predictable at all. I wasn’t really sure I’d be here up until two weeks ago, it was very stressful because I really wanted to be here. But if I wasn’t well enough, I needed to accept that I couldn’t be here and just aim for something else.

Q: And how fit do you feel now?

Venus: I feel pretty fit.

Q: Out of ten.

Venus: I don’t know. I’ve never given myself a ten out of ten. I’ll never score a ten – for me it was just about being smart, listening to my body and I’m back as soon as I possibly could be. I didn’t take any extra, extra weeks just to like be really really sure so I’m back as soon as possible.

Q: So it’s not sentimentality the fact that you have won Wimbledon five times and you look ten out of ten.

Venus: Like I said, I’ve never given myself a ten. Maybe every now and then an eight and a half. As an athlete I’m never super happy with everything.

Q: What do you say to people who suggest that it would reflect badly on the women’s game if either yourself or your sister would come back and win Wimbledon after such a long absence?

Venus: At the end of the day, ten years from now, no-one is going to remember ‘Oh poor V she was injured, or ‘poor X player’ it doesn’t matter in ten years. It’ll just say Wimbledon title, hopefully my name on it, and that’s all that matters. All the drama that goes on in between is just yesterday’s news to me.

Q: Has your time off made you appreciated the game much more?

Venus: I really thought I appreciated the game but definitely. Sometimes I would go to sporting events and I’d be like ‘wow, I get to do that too’ and I’d go back and try to work harder. I definitely appreciate it more having had very few opportunities to play in the last year. For me to be back is – I want to try and take full advantage of it.