STAN WAWRINKA,
She wins in first round at Wimbledon, tries to address question about fatal mishap.
LONDON — Venus Williams wiped tears from her eyes during her Wimbledon news conference Monday.
She shook her head, fiddled with her hair and sat, silently.
The wave of emotion came as Williams attempted to answer a question about the two-car crash that police say she caused June 9 in Florida; a 78-year-old passenger in the other vehicle died 13 days later. Williams’ 7-6 (7), 6-4 victory over Elise Mertens at the All England Club was the five-time Wimbledon champion’s first match anywhere since the accident — and Monday was the first time she has spoken about it publicly.
Well, tried to speak about it. She began by saying: “There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating and ... ” Williams paused. “Yeah, I’m completely speechless,” she continued. “Yeah, I mean, I’m just ... ” Then she sat there silently. Eventually, a moderator temporarily halted the news conference, allowing the 37-year-old to leave the room for a bit. She huddled with her older sister, Isha, before returning. When proceedings resumed, the moderator asked that the topic of the crash be avoided, saying, “Venus is willing to take a couple more questions about other things. Tennis, perhaps.”
The 10th-seeded Williams’ return to action, and difficulty in addressing the off-court matters with the media — just last week, the police report was released, and a day later, the estate of the man who died sued her — were the most noteworthy happenings on Day 1 at the grass-court tournament.
There was, though, oncourt news, of course, starting with this: No. 3-ranked Stan Wawrinka, the runnerup at the French Open just three weeks ago, dealt with a bothersome left knee and bowed out 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to Daniil Medvedev, a 21-yearold Russian ranked 49th who had never won a Grand Slam match.
“For sure, I wasn’t feeling the way I wanted to feel,” Wawrinka said.
Wawrinka has won each of the other majors once apiece but Wimbledon has given him fits over the years. He has yet to get past the quarterfinals and this was his sixth exit in the first round.
Another seeded man departed when No. 20 Nick Kyrgios stopped playing because of a hip problem. He dropped the first two sets against Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France before calling it quits.
Two of the four men who have divvied up the past 14 Wimbledon trophies won easily: Andy Murray (6-1, 6-4, 6-2 over Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan) and Rafael Nadal (against John Millman of Australia 6-1, 6-3, 6-2).
Williams has not been cited or charged, and police say she was not drunk, on drugs or texting, but that she drove her SUV into the path of a car carrying a married couple. Williams, who owns a home near the crash site, told investigators her light was green when she entered the six-lane intersection but she got stopped midpoint by traffic and didn’t see the other car before she crossed its lane.
“I mean, obviously, I think it would weigh on any human being, and Venus is no different,” said Williams’ coach, David Witt. “Venus is the nicest person, and [this is] just some random thing that could happen to anybody, any day. But she’s looking to focus on the tennis. I’m sure it’s weighing on her but we’re going day by day . ... ”
Against Mertens, whom she beat 6-3, 6-1 at the French Open last month, Williams played unevenly.
“I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. That’s all I can say about it,” Williams said. “That’s what I’ve learned.”