Finally, five years removed from the gut-wrenching emotions of the Serena Slam era, the Williams sisters let it fly in a Grand Slam final. It was like a palate-cleansing sorbet, a blast of fresh air at the All England Club that swept away all the memories of awkward tennis and charges of fixed matches.
There were grunts and shrieks, fist pumps, ripped backhands aimed with malice at the midsection, a Wimbledon-record 129 mph serve -- and a fabulous seven-deuce, 21-point game that consumed 14 minutes. There might have been more drama squeezed into this 1-hour, 51-minute ladies' final than in the 15 previous meetings between
Venus and
Serena Williams combined.
And so, after losing five consecutive Grand Slam finals to her younger sister -- the last here in 2003 -- Venus finally prevailed 7-5, 6-4. As she ecstatically ran to the net, she mouthed the word "wow" several times. "I can't believe it's five," Venus said breathlessly on Centre Court. "When you play Serena Williams, five seems so far away."
But there it is: Venus has five Wimbledon championships, including the past two, now at the advanced age (by professional tennis standards) of 28. In the four decades of Open era tennis, only Martina Navratilova (nine titles) and Steffi Graf (seven) have won here more. For at least a day, Venus has as many Wimbledon titles as
Roger Federer. In her past matches against Serena, particularly the five straight in the finals of majors, Venus seemed willing to stand by as her little sister -- always in search-and-destroy mode -- dictated policy.
Both sisters were asked afterward if they could, at any point, forget that their sister was standing on the other side of the net. "Yeah," Serena said sullenly. "I don't really think of it at all. I was out there playing for Serena."
Tellingly, Venus had the opposite answer. "At no point am I ever able to forget that it's Serena," Venus said, sounding sincere, "because I have the ultimate respect for her game. If I was playing anyone else, I wouldn't have to face what I had to face today, so it's impossible to forget."
Yet Venus found a way to put the hammer down. It was a well-played final in which Serena maintained a statistical edge. She had more aces, fewer double faults, more winners and fewer unforced errors than Venus. But Venus, older and on this day wiser, was bigger in the big points. Displaying a confidence against Serena we have not seen since her 2001 U.S. Open final win, Venus converted four of seven break points, while Serena was a surprisingly tentative 2-for-13. "I think I was maybe a little bit more relaxed than her," Venus said.
Over the years, the Williams sisters have been criticized for their emotionally flat performances against each other. This time, it appeared, they both wanted to win badly. Afterward, Serena was in a foul mood. In her postmatch news conference, she gave short, monotone answers. When asked about a curious point in which she graciously gave Venus a point on a let call, her eyes narrowed. "I don't know," Serena said. "I forgot about the match, pretty much."
The last question was a statement: You don't look happy at all. "I don't?" Serena said, sarcastically. "I wonder why."
Even three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe, not the biggest fan of women's tennis, was impressed with the quality of the match. He actually hoped out loud for a third set. "This is the most competitive match I've seen between them," McEnroe said. "For the first time, to me it looked like Venus wanted this match more."
It was, in retrospect, a retro day for women's tennis. The clocks were turned back five years to when the Williams sisters dominated the game, bringing it to a new level of athleticism. Looking for some context? In 2003, there was fear and loathing across the United States as gas prices rose beyond … $1.40 a gallon. That was the same year President George Bush declared that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, and the U.S. invaded in March.
Since then, the sisters have suffered various injuries and, over the years, become increasingly drawn to the world of fashion and the cult of their own celebrities. There were times when they seemed bored. Maybe all those distractions kept tennis fresh, for here they were in the Wimbledon final -- not retired Belgians Justin Henin and Kim Clijsters, not reigning Australian Open champion
Maria Sharapova, not freshly minted French Open champion
Ana Ivanovic.
The general consensus around the grounds hoped that Venus could master her inclination to give in to Serena, but that the younger sister -- tougher and more competitive -- would win. Sure enough, Venus lost 10 of the match's first 11 points, including a break of her opening service game. Gradually, though, Venus found an equilibrium and broke back to level the set at four games apiece. With Serena serving to force a tiebreaker, she dropped a backhand into the net on break point, then slammed her racket to the ground.
This was significant, because in 14 of the previous 15 matches between the sisters, the winner of the first set won the match. Throughout the match, Venus stuck stubbornly -- defiantly? -- to her strategy. She received Serena's booming serve a foot inside the baseline and paid a price, as nine aces whistled past her. Venus also served into Serena's body 28 percent of the time, with great success. "Body is my favorite here," Venus said. "You can't defend it."
Said Serena, "I think that was her tactic. I'm glad she did it, because next time I know what to expect."
Venus' relentless defense forced Serena to hit an extra ball or two, and when she moved forward, she won 15 of 18 points at the net. Serena was only 9-for-15. For the conspiracy theorists, any questions about a predetermined result were answered in the third game. As Venus came loping to the net, Serena aimed a thundering backhand right at her gut. Venus, hands quickened by a deep doubles run, knocked off a reflex backhand volley that dropped for a winner. In the last game of the first set, the roles were reversed as Venus cracked a backhand at Serena, who had come to the net. Serena dropped down a backhand volley winner.
So to review, seven of the past nine titles here have been lifted by a Williams. Serena's Grand Slam singles title lead over Venus has now narrowed to 8-7. The sisters have won three of the seven Grand Slams contested over the past two calendar years and the only player with two over that span (Henin) is no longer playing. They are still happy, healthy and, because they do not play heavy schedules, hungry to compete for majors. With all due respect to Sharapova and Ivanovic, it is not a stretch to imagine them playing for the U.S. Open title a few months from now.
Are the Williams sisters experiencing a renaissance? "I would love that," Venus said. "The goal is to stay healthy, so that way we can play singles and doubles and have a lot of fun with it."
General Manager Ted Thompson: “We've communicated that to Brett, that we have since moved forward. At the same time, we've never said that there couldn't be some role that he might play here. But I would understand his point that he would want to play. We don't know what role that would be. He can come back as an active member of the Green Bay Packers. I don't want to deal in hypotheticals. Brett is still retired. I know that there has been a lot of publicity about him being released, but if he applies for reinstatement, he will go back on the Green Bay Packers active roster and we will deal with it then.”
