HOPE AND A LITTLE LUCK FOR SERENA WILLIAMS & VENUS WILLIAMS IN PARIS BY CHERYL JONES

Written by: Staff on 27th May 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

HOPE AND A LITTLE LUCK FOR SERENA WILLIAMS & VENUS WILLIAMS IN PARIS BY CHERYL JONES

epa04224462 Venus Williams of the USA in action during her first round match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 25 May 2014. EPA/CHRISTOPHE KARABA |

For close to twenty years, the face of American tennis has been Venus and Serena Williams. My mind wanders back to the silhouettes of two little girls scampering around the court, beads woven into their hair clacking in cadence to some faraway drum that was audible only to the two of them. They must have heard the future somewhere far off, calling to them. Each year, it became like a pulse of hope and promise, moving ever closer.

Today, Serena is the number one women’s player in the world. Venus got there first, and she still plays, even through issues that are far greater than tennis have entered the picture. She has an illness that is serious. It is called Sjogren’s Syndrome. It has sapped her energy and forced her to bow to the pressure of the autoimmune illness that has required her to play fewer tournaments. She has changed her diet drastically, and still works at her second love, fashion and interior design.

She will take to the court again in Paris this year. She triumphed in her first match, on the first Sunday of Roland Garros, defeating Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-1. Sister Serena easily prevailed in her match with French woman, Alize Lim, 6-2, 6-1. It’s been a while since both of them moved forward at the same tournament, but it won’t be a Williams sister finale. If each of them win their next match, they will meet in the Round of 16. Only one sister will move on.

Gone are the days when some thought they took turns being the loser. (They claimed that was never the case, but still, people surmised that their father decided which one would lose, before the match even began.) Bill Dwyer, the esteemed sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times once suggested that when they faced each other across the net, one was the designated diver. It sounds comical, but the suggestion of cheating should never have been an issue with the skills they possess. The Williams sisters have one of the best win/loss records of anyone who has ever picked up a racquet. That’s a statement of fact and not speculation. Both women are amazing athletes. They have been looking forward to success each year and accomplished it with the finesse of true champions. (Much like the Energizer bunny, they just keep ticking.)

No American man has had the success that the two women have enjoyed. Actually, no one of either gender (save Roger Federer) from anywhere has had that kind of success. Not even Rafael Nadal’s string of wins on clay can hold a candle to the longevity and success of the women who nurtured their games on what some might refer to as the wrong side of the tracks, in Compton, California. In tennis, that doesn’t usually matter. Most often, it is only a matter of skill and perseverance. There is no doubt that each of them has a ball machine full triumphs.

Eventually, the “girls” will have to put away their racquets and they will grow to a place that is beyond what happens for them on the court. For now, they soldier on. But, it still remains to be seen which female tennis player from the United States will take up the baton to continue the quest for tennis greatness, Perhaps it will be Sloane Stephens who defeated Shuai Peng, 6-4, 7-6 in an early afternoon match on Court One. It wasn’t a landslide win, but a win it was. Stephens seems to have a switch that comes on during major tournaments.

Let’s hope it’s in good working order for the next couple of weeks. America could use a boost.

Topics: Cheryl Jones, French Open, Paris, Roland Garros, Serena Williams, Tennis, Venus Williams

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10sBalls_com says:

May 27, 2014 at 2:41 pm

HOPE AND A LITTLE LUCK FOR SERENA WILLIAMS & VENUS WILLIAMS IN PARIS BY CHERYL JONES-http://t.co/1HvO0GNKmW @serenawilliams @Venuseswilliams