Venus vanquished

Written by: Staff on 10th September 2010

Venus vanquished

Sept. 10, 2010; Flushing, NY, USA; Venus Williams (USA) on day twelve of the 2010 US Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-US PRESSWIRE |

As Venus Williams emptied her locker at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, she was reasonably upbeat. After a summer blighted by sore knees, she had come to the US Open with only 10 days practise behind her and she had reached the semi finals. That must have been something to be proud of.

But, deep down, Venus must have known that the game was almost up. This was the grand slam she was supposed to have won. This was the major tournament that was set up for her. This was the one she let slip away.

She lost that semi final to Kim Clijsters 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, and it must have hurt. She had Clijsters, the defending champion, on the rack for the best part of two sets. The likable Belgian was being blown away by a combination of Williams’s aggressive tactics – and Venus thundering towards the net is enough to frighten the life out of anyone – her pounding serve and a swirling wind that made life difficult for everyone.

But then, in an unexpected bout of generosity, Williams let Clijsters back into the match. She offered up two double faults on her first two service points of the tiebreak, she wrapped the gift with two more horrible errors on her next two service points and then, suddenly the champion was back in with a chance.

In return, Clijsters had a fit of the jitters as she moved towards the finish line in the third set but, again, Williams’s serve let her down when she needed it most. The woman who had mopped up five Wimbledon titles with a ruthless determination simply could not finish the job in New York.

Then again, that has always been Williams’s problem. For all that she has maintained a position at the sharp end of the rankings and is always regarded as a threat at the major tournaments, her record away from the green, green grass of SW19 is not great. And for a woman who believes that she can win any of the big titles, she has not reached a grand slam final anywhere but Wimbledon since the 2003 Australian Open. She has not reached a final in Flushing Meadows since 2002. On both occasions, she was beaten by her baby sis, Serena.

This time, though, Serena was only to be seen in the posh seats at the side of the court. A foot injury had kept her away from the frontline and so, in her absence, it was over to Venus to fly the family flag. And Venus was simply not up to the task.

“I’m not sure what my thoughts are,” Williams said. “I mean, I tried really, really hard here. I tried my best to play into a rhythm and to continue to be positive. I felt like I was trying to be aggressive in that last game, and I came in you know, three out of five points. Unfortunately it didn’t work for me.”

The problem for Williams is that, at the age of 30, time is fast running out for her. She and her sister have dominated the game for a generation but, by bringing their power game to the tour, they have forced everyone else to become bigger and stronger. Serena, the younger of the two, still has the champion’s heart and spirit, but Venus no longer scares people. Her game, at its very best, seems only to overpower her rivals on grass – but it is not enough to beat her sister there. Not any more.

“Obviously, it’s extremely disappointing not to be able to win this match today,” Williams said. “You know, I feel like the last few times I’ve played her, I haven’t been at my top, I haven’t been very healthy. So, you know, knowing that I can still obviously almost win, I’m just looking forward to the next time where I can be a lot closer to 100 per cent and play even better.”

This did not sound like the Venus of old. Never, in the past, would Venus have been pleased to have “almost” won. But, unfortunately for her, history shows that “almost” winning is about as much as she has to look forward to. No 30-year-old has won a grand slam title in 20 years – and the last one was Martina Navratilova who, as a living legend, cannot be held up as an example to mere mortals.

For Kim Clijsters, Saturday’s final is a new and promising opportunity. For Venus Williams, the US Open 2010 may mark the end of an era.

Topics: Aggressive Tactics, Australian Open, Billie Jean King, Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Blown Away, Defending Champion, Double Faults, Finish Line, Grand Slam, Green Green Grass, Jitters, Kim Clijsters, National Tennis Center, Semi Finals, Sore Knees, Sw19, Tiebreak, Venus Williams, Wimbledon, Wimbledon Titles