Venus
Williams Interview
Wimbledon
2010
Q. Were you happy
with the way the game went tonight?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah. Really a long day at the tennis. So
I was happy to get on this evening. You know, everything
was pretty straightforward today.
Q. How does that affect the game when you have such a
long wait?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Just wait. I mean, I'm used to waiting.
I've played this tournament a lot, a lot of tournaments.
That's what it's about. When you're not first on, you
wait. That's part of it.
Q. You started off with a vengeance. Was that
something that was building up inside you, the
frustration of waiting?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know if I want to call it that.
But I was just, you know, ready to go. Been practicing on
the grass since Wednesday. So I feel like I had a good
feel for it. I was just ready to go for it.
Q. Good to get that first round out of the way.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah. The first round, plus you never
know how the courts are going to play, if it's going to
be slippery, how the bounce will be. Each one's playing
so different.
I was pretty happy with how the court was playing, to be
playing clean.
Q. What were the conditions like on the court?
VENUS WILLIAMS: The court might seem a little bit
slippery. But it's grass, so you're going to slip every
now and then on the stuff.
Q. You'll see a more muted response here to what you
were wearing here than in Paris?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Here it's all about white. There is no
illusion this time. My dress was inspired by Tina Turner.
So, you know, still had the lace motif. I think it's just
a fun, elegant dress.
Q. How inspired by her?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Tina Turner? I love her. I love Tina
Turner. Obviously, she's just an amazing, amazing artist,
just a survivor. She reinvented herself. Plus she looks
great. I've loved her forever. So the dress is really
inspired by her.
Q. You have Makarova in the next round. Great form at
the moment. Is that going to be a difficult one?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Each match is a challenge. I feel like
I'm ready and up for each one, so I'll be ready.
Q. Do you feel as good going into this Wimbledon as
you have done in the past when you've gone on to win it?
VENUS WILLIAMS: You know, I've had times where I've had a
slower start, I've had times where I've had a faster
start, so each one is different.
Q. Shifting to the US Open for a moment, as you look
back on that tournament, you've had so many great
memories there. Is there one that stands out? Might it be
the first time you got to the final losing to Hingis, the
year you won your first title? Is one memory particularly
powerful for you?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Gosh, I mean, obviously the years that I
won there were the most memorable, probably especially
the first time because I felt like in that final we both
were playing great tennis. To come out on top was, you
know, really satisfying.
Q. And you had a comeback in the second set. It was a
good performance.
VENUS WILLIAMS: When?
Q. Against Lindsay.
VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I think it was the first set. I just
remember being really calm and figuring out what I was
doing wrong and correcting it. I think that I won like
five or six games in a row, which was a tightly contested
match. We both were just playing so well. You know, I got
the best of her that time.
Q. When you were waiting around, did you find yourself
watching some of the Federer match? Is that what people
were doing in the locker room?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Not a lot really. It was a tight match.
It's tough to watch someone like him get so close to
losing. So I tried not to watch it.
Q. You don't like to watch another match before you go
on?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah, I'll watch a match. But, you
know, it just varies. There's no, you know, routine.
Q. Some people say it makes them more nervous. Some
people say they don't care. You're in the middle, I
guess?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, maybe in the middle.
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