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SONY ERICSSON CHAMPIONSHIPS

October 27, 2009

Venus Williams

DOHA, QATAR

E. DEMENTIEVA/V. Williams
3-6, 7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Venus, please.

Q. It looked as though you were heading for a good, solid win at one stage. It changed quite quickly. What do you feel were the reasons for that?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, you know, I didn't put enough balls in the court. It was pretty close in the second set. You know, I had a lot of opportunities to have even a bigger lead. But, you know, I didn't put the ball in the court. So it doesn't help if you don't put the ball in the court.

Q. Was it preparation, footwork, being able to move?
VENUS WILLIAMS: It was a lot of things, yeah.

Q. First loss for you over Dementieva since 2004. How do you feel about that?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, you know, she hung around. You know, she stayed in there. She, you know, did really well.

Q. Did she deserve to win?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Did she deserve to win? I mean, obviously I wanted to win. But, you know, she got the win in the end.

Q. Were there physical issues in the second half of the match for you or not?
VENUS WILLIAMS: You know, she kept the ball in the court and she did really well. You know, I didn't keep the ball in the court. So that didn't help.

Q. The first set was easy for you. The second set Dementieva fought well and in the end she won. What happened after that?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, she kept hitting a lot of balls in the court, like I keep telling you, and I didn't. So I really didn't find the court for four games in the last set.
That really doesn't help. I mean, you have to hit it in.

Q. Is it related to the weather?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm a Florida girl. So, you know, it gets hot there, too.

Q. To stay alive in the tournament, you have to beat Serena tomorrow. What do you think about this situation?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I'm gonna come back tomorrow and, you know, just improve my game. That's what it's all about in round-robin tennis. It's my second time playing round robin. So now I'll see what it's like to, you know, be in this kind of competition for real.

Q. Of course it's always disappointing when an opponent breaks back. But you seemed particularly disappointed when she broke back in the middle of that second set. Did you sort of have any feeling or concern that the match could turn around at that stage?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, I don't like getting broken. You know, there's a lot of moments in the match, but obviously I would have loved to have held for 4-2. It would have been nice.

Q. You made 11 foot faults. It's a sign that the serve didn't work too well?
VENUS WILLIAMS: My first-serve percentage wasn't so high. I don't really feel like I lost the game off the serve. I feel like it was more off the ground. You know, my serve, maybe I could have gotten more first serves in, but in general I put the ball in the box. But, you know, just off the ground, I need to make some improvements for tomorrow for that.

Q. The results in Beijing and Tokyo against the young Russian girl, was that a continuation? Did you lose those matches because you weren't putting enough balls in the court as well or did the other girl play well?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, you know, I didn't put enough balls in the court. But, I mean, I've kind of moved on from those matches. To be honest, I'm pretty much in the present, focusing on tomorrow. That's sport. You kind of have to move away from yesterday, whether it was a win or a loss.

End of FastScripts

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