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A Few Questions for
Venus Williams

Two short years ago, Richard Williams had people shaking their heads with brash predictions about the future success of his two daughters. Well, with Venus solidly entrenched as number three and Serena close behind, no one in the tennis world is doubting him any more. Over a period of days at last month's US Open, we had a chance to get Venus' perspective on her meteoric rise.

Q. What has changed about you from two years ago?
Venus Williams: About eight titles. My ranking is about 61 places better.

Q. How about your game?
Venus Williams: I have a bigger serve, make better decisions, cover the net more, those type of things.

Q. You have done very, very well over the last two years. With that, I think expectations would be higher. Do you feel more pressure?
Venus Williams: No, not at all. People say, "Venus is a favorite." People actually think Venus is going to win. For me, I'm just out here playing.

Two years ago Venus displayed angled volleys, sizzling serves, and heavy groundstrokes but she appeared to be merely a hitter of the ball, not a player of the game.

Q. Are you disappointed at all in your Grand Slam showings over the last five or six?
Venus Williams: Very disappointed, yes, very.

Q. How does your level of confidence now compare with earlier Slams? Has it been a progression?
Venus Williams: I was feeling very good at the French until I was ousted. This year I'm feeling good, too, at this US Open. At Wimbledon, I was never, ever able to play my best tennis. I don't know why. I was just off.
But those two Slams, the French and right here, I'm feeling very well.

Q. What have you done differently since the French to prepare yourself?
Venus Williams: I underestimated my opponent. I didn't take it seriously. You can't do that. I've learned my lesson. I had to learn it the hard way, in a Grand Slam.

Q. Did the loss to Martina Hingis this summer at San Diego bother you? What would you have done differently?
Venus Williams: Yeah, I wasn't ready. I should have been ready, but I wasn't. This time I'll have to be ready. I'll be working hard. I just got fatigued. I had a lot of tournaments in the summer. Just have to learn from everything I do. This time I'll make sure I'm not tired, because that's not an excuse for losing. Whether you're tired or not, you have to play and compete.

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