00:00My whole life I just wanted to play tennis and I never thought about anything else that would come with
00:05it.
00:05Influencing people is really what this world is about.
00:23It's funny that I always go back to hearing Richard Williams, you know, words and saying,
00:28well, you think Venus is good, you know, wait till Serena comes around and he was absolutely right.
00:33What she's accomplished, you know, both on and off the court has been amazing.
00:49When I played her first tournament, I think she was 16 or 17.
00:53I was number one in the world and I could just sense that this player is just going to be
00:58changing the game.
01:00And she has obviously changed the game of tennis.
01:14To win as many matches and titles and slams and Olympic medals as she has over the last couple of
01:21decades,
01:22doing it all while having a child going through life-threatening illnesses that she had after giving birth,
01:27so many injuries as well. So for me, yeah, on the women's side, definitely the greatest full-time.
01:46I've always looked up to her. I think she's such a great athlete, a great person and a great icon
01:53for our sport.
02:07I've had a big X on my back since 99, since I won the U.S. Open.
02:13When players play me that hard, every single tournament, every single match, every single Grand Slam,
02:19just doesn't matter where, you just get better.
02:22When players play me that hard, every single match.
