Five years ago, Venus and Serena Williams made history when they became the fist sister act to perform on centre court in a women’s final at Wimbledon. Serena upset her big sister back then to win her first of two titles at this most prestigious of the four Grand Slams tournaments (the others being the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open).
And even though the quality of their play against each other in that match left a great deal to be desired, they so dominated all of their respective opponents that I thought they were destined to be featured in this (and every other Grand Slam) final for years to come. Frankly, I fully expected Venus and Serena to do to the records in women’s tennis what Tiger Woods has done (and is doing) to the records in golf.
Alas, they have not. In fact, of the 39 Grand Slam titles that have been up for grabs since they turned pro in 1998, Venus has won only 7 and Serena 8. (In less than half that time – from 2004 to 2008 – Justine Henin won 7 titles.)
Therefore, as I watched them yesterday displaying the same power, skill and grace that made them seem so invincible five years ago, I could not help thinking what opportunities had been lost – to fashion modeling, acting, injuries … and boys.
Incidentally, Venus won in straight sets 7-5, 6-4. And this means that of her 7 Grand Slam singles titles, 5 were won at Wimbledon.
Still, even if we have to wait another five years to see them return to centre court, Wimbledon can boast of no rivalry more exciting to watch than the sibling rivalry between Venus and Serena.
So here’s to Venus this time (and may my favorite sister win next time…again).
UPDATE
Nadal dethrones Federer in epic Wimbledon final
I’ve been quite unabashed in expressing my preference for women’s tennis. Because, frankly, the women’s game is not only almost as powerful as the men’s (with Venus hitting 125 mph serves); their fierce baseline strokes during relatively long rallies are also far more titillating to watch than the one big serve that now characterizes men’s tennis.
[Hail to 4-time Wimbledon champ Venus Williams, The iPINIONS Journal, July 3, 2008]
July 6 at 4:40 PM: I began this update with the above quote because I want you to see the words that I’m being forced to eat. Because, after watching Rafael “Rafa” Nadal and Roger Federer play 4 hours and 48 minutes of the best tennis I’ve ever seen (complete with long and thrilling rallies that rivaled those Venus and Serena played in their finals match), I feel obliged to do so.
When Nadal jumped off to a stunning 2-set lead, no one could have imagined that Federer would regain his 5-time-Wimbledon-champion form to extend this match to five sets – only to lose it to the upstart Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7. And, as if the play on the court were not suspenseful enough, rain delays only heightened the suspense and extended it to over 7 hours.
Meanwhile, in addition to the epic play, this match was rife with historic significance:
First, this was the longest men’s final in Wimbledon history;
Second, Federer, 26, failed to surpass Bjorn Borg’s record of 5-consecutive Wimbledon titles by winning his sixth-consecutive title;
Third, Nadal, 22, became the first man to overcome the formidable challenge of winning both the French Open on clay and Wimbledon on grass in the same year since Bjorn Borg did it in 1980; and
Fourth, Nadal became the first Spaniard to win this most coveted of all titles since Manolo Santana won it in 1966. (And members of Spain’s royal family were amongst the cheering spectators at the All England Club to witness this Nadal’s historic feat.)
So here’s to Rafa not only for accomplishing so much, but also for recapturing my interest in men’s tennis….
It was the greatest match I’ve ever seen in my tennis career … unbelievable!
[John McEnroe, tennis legend and NBC’s motor-mouth commentator for this historic match]
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Hail to 4-time Wimbledon champ Venus Williams
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