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Q&A: TUESDAY, JUNE 21

Venus & Serena Williams: in their own words

By Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net

Now that Venus and Serena Williams occupy the world No. 1 and No. 2 ranking spots on the WTA Tour computer, respectively, they have realized their father, Richard's, lifelong dream. They also have fulfilled the potential that most people in the tennis community saw when they first arrived on the scene as young teenagers.

While older sis, Venus, still has a career edge over Serena, little sis seems to have the stars in her solar system these days, winning their French Open final in straight sets two weeks ago. That win makes their head-to-head in Grand Slam finals 1-1 as Venus won their encounter at the '01 U.S. Open championship match. If keeping count, Venus has four Grand Slam trophies ('00 & '01 Wimbledon and U.S. Opens) and Serena has two Grand Slam titles ('99 U.S. Open and '02 French Open).

With Venus seeded No. 1 and Serena seeded No. 2 at Wimbledon next week, the tennis planets are aligned for another All-Williams Grand Slam final in the immediate future. That is, if both sisters can hold to their seeding form in the draw. Following the first ever all-sibling women's final at Roland Garros, both Venus and Serena agreed to meet with a handful of American reporters after the traditional post-match press conferences. Each sister showed up independently and spent a good half hour chatting about a variety of subjects. tennisreporters.net was included among the handful of journalists for the semiprivate tête-à-tête with the sisters. Below are some highlights from that conversation.

VENUS WILLIAMS

Q: It still hasn't come together for the two of you to play a magical match against each other – a real masterpiece. Are you surprised that the two of you haven't put on the type of performance you can against other opponents, against each other?
VW: I think the match was okay, although I wish I could've done a little better. We've played some good matches. The one at the Grand Slam Cup was a really good match. Serena and I have similar games and especially with other players, we try to play more consistently, possibly, and try to get more balls back. But when we play each other, we don't play this game and I think that's the difference. When players play us they think, 'maybe they'll hit themselves out of a match.'

Q: Is it more fun to play a singles match against Serena than another opponent?
VW: I'd rather play her than anyone else because then I know I've done my best that particular tournament, which is, hopefully, the plan every tournament, to be in the final.

Q: Now that you've gotten older, we see a lot more personality differences between Serena and you. Were the differences always there and we didn't see them or have they become more distinct as you've gotten older?
VW: They were always there in the beginning. There's a lot of difference – we're different people. Are we dependent or codependent? Are they selfish or not selfish? Everybody has things they can work on. More than anything, we consider ourselves good people, you know.

Q: After the final, you became a photographer and took pictures of Serena with the winner's trophy. Is that your next profession?
VW: I always regret that I never bring my camera at the right moments. I saw my mom out there and she had her camera, but she was seeing it from behind, so I used hers. You had to wind it, turn it, and focus it and I wasn't used to that. I've seen her do it before but it just so hard because you have to capture the moment immediately. (If I was playing someone else) I don't think I'd be taking pictures of my other opponents for my memorabilia. But I actually have taken pictures … when I do bring my camera I do take pictures after the finals and with the trophy. [My favorite photo] I took a picture of my mom on these rocks on the Gold Coast [Australia]– not all my photos come out nice and I've only taken a few nice ones – I've taken two or three and that was one of them.

Q: Your mom said she was happy to see you smiling and taking photos afterwards – that you were just treating it like a game. Is that how you felt?
VW: Yes, because it is a game. Obviously, I'm disappointed that I didn't win and a loss is a loss. You don't exactly feel good about it, like, 'I lost today' (sounding cheery). But I do realize that there will be other opportunities as long as I'm healthy and on tour. And I'm happy for Serena. It would be ridiculous if I was out there crying and had an attitude problem – it would be me with the problem not Serena. She's always been there for me when I've gone all the way a couple of times. But I always want her to do better and win those titles because she really needs it. I do need it [too]. But she hadn't won a [Grand Slam] title in so long. But when I go out there I'm doing my best to win. When she does win, I'm proud of her.

Q: What do you think it's going to be like the next couple of years for Serena and you?
VW: Right now, it's as great as it will ever be. To be in the final of a Grand Slam again and No. 1 and No. 2 – it doesn't get much better than this as great moments are concerned. We have to enjoy it. We have to do our best to stay like this. It's not always going to be like this, meeting in Grand Slam finals every single time, but when they do happen, we have to enjoy those moments.

Q: What impact have the two of you had on the sport?
VW: I feel that definitely we've raised the power level [of the game]. I think the people out there are getting the best out of their bodies as far as power. I remember when I first came on tour, although I guess I was serving pretty big, but no one out there was hitting first serves more than 90 mph, maximum 100 mph. Nowadays, all players are hitting very hard, attacking, serving big, being great competitors. When I came out on tour there was maybe Steffi, or Steffi wasn't out there, so maybe just Martina doing very well. Now Serena, Jennifer, Monica and all these players and you have to play a lot harder.

Q: Do you think people initially misjudged Serena and you?
VW: It's hard and I don't try to counteract what people were saying because it's not possible. There were a lot of players and people out there formulating opinions without actually knowing Serena and I, which I find difficult to do, formulate an opinion, without even knowing that person. I think I've learned a lot, basically, from that, not to judge people just from my own life. I'm very confident in myself and in the beginning I said, 'Yes, of course, I'll be No. 1, and I think I'll be the best.' I think people looked at that as being bigheaded. But I think it's okay to believe in yourself. Nowadays, I don't talk so much.

SERENA WILLIAMS

Q: Will you treat yourself to something special for winning the French Open?
SW: I've already treated myself and I'm definitely not looking into spending a bunch of money right now. I'm going to invest it – savings. Yeah, I'm trying to be like Venus. She is a penny pincher and I need to be more like that.

Q: Can you compare this Grand Slam win to your first at the 1999 U.S. Open?
SW: No. The '99 U.S. Open was my first, I was 17, I always dreamed of winning the U.S. Open. I always dreamed of winning this, but being American … it's like a French person winning here. I love winning both. I'm happy now that I'm older I was able to win this one.

Q: Venus has one four Slams now and you've won two – do you think about the family total at Grand Slam at all?
SW: No. I just think about how I needed to get more than one on my bill. I would've have been happy if Venus had five, but I would have been even more determined at Wimbledon. But, obviously, I'm still determined to go there. The other day, my legs were giving out [against Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals], and I was getting tired, but I had to think, 'Okay, Serena, 5 and 1 or 4 and 2, which do you want?' That really kind of got me motivated to keep running. At points I was really tired, but I had to keep fighting.

Q: Have you been doing a lot of practicing and training lately?
SW: I've been doing a lot of work – I've been working really hard, I really have. Mental work – I've been watching a lot of tapes. Maybe sometimes when I go to sleep, I always sleep with the TV on, so maybe I put in a tape and it permeates through my body. It depends, if I have a bad practice, I have to watch a tape where I lost – it's really tough to watch one of those. Namely, the Jennifer Capriati match here last year [in the quarterfinals] is the one that I have to watch and it is very discouraging watching it. I've only seen it about three times because I can't handle it. I have good practices now.

Q: Would you have been as happy as Venus if you lost the match today?
SW: Oh, for sure. I'm ready to go home. I've been here too long. To be quite honest with you, if she had won, I would have been happy, said, 'good for you,' and 'I don't have to do any press.'

Q: Do you think the perception about Venus and you have changed a lot since you came on tour?
SW: I think it has changed. I think people realize that not only are we good players, but we're really grateful and we're very nice. We try to be nice to everybody. I think people now, with both of us doing so well, people are beginning to see us as separate people and as separate games. We're different people;we have different hearts, different legs.

Q: When you both first arrived we thought of you as very similar, but now you seem like different people. Were you always different and we didn't see it or have you both developed as individuals as you've gotten older?
SW: I think as I got older it developed because I used to think I was Venus. I used to do everything she did and I thought I liked things she liked. And then I realized, 'I don't like tomatoes, I don't like mushrooms.' I had to realize that I was a different person. No – I'm not eating them anymore. I'm not taking it anymore. I'm not going to eat those black mushrooms. But it's from little things like that to bigger things, I realize I'm a totally different person than she is. Believe it or not, I'm more shy than she is, but she's actually more loquacious which is more talkative, but I'm more outgoing. It's kind of hard to describe. I won't talk – very, very, extremely shy. But Venus will talk but she won't go places. I think people see us as different so they won't be yelling out 'Go Williams.' When we first started playing, everybody was saying, 'Go Williams.' Now, I heard a lot of people yelling for Venus today, and for me, too. So, I think people will relate to whomever's personality suits them more and whomever's game they like best.