Venus taking swing at sixth crown
Williams last played for grass-court title in 2009
WIMBLEDON, England — In her 20th Wimbledon, Venus Williams is on the verge of what could be her most meaningful victory.
That is quite a statement about a player who has won seven major singles titles and four Olympic gold medals, and who played a critical role in securing equal prize money for women at Wimbledon in 2007.
She is 37 now, an age at which so many of her tennis peers — not including the soon-to-be-36-yearold Roger Federer — have long since moved on to coaching, commentary or life far removed from the constraints of the circuit.
But the weight of the years hardly seems to be much of a burden on Williams’ tennis, and after her latest bravura performance — a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Johanna Konta on Thursday full of clutch serves and cocksure ground strokes — she is back in her first Wimbledon singles final since 2009.
“If Venus wins it, I think this one might mean more to her than any other one just because of everybody writing her off, no one thinking she could ever continue to play the level that she wanted to play,” her coach, David Witt, said.
There were strong grounds for skepticism. Left reeling after a diagnosis of an autoimmune disorder, Sjogren’s Syndrome, Williams did not make it past the fourth round in singles at a Grand Slam tournament in 2011, 2012, 2013 or 2014. There were many occasions when she awoke eager to face the day’s opponent only to discover that she lacked the energy to play the match on her terms.
But she has no shortage of vim and vigor now. She has gathered momentum at Wimbledon after a shaky start and has rumbled past four dangerous and much younger
opponents in straight sets.
“There’s definitely a lot of ups and downs,” Williams said, referring to her health issues. “I just try to hold my head up high, no matter what is happening in life.”
After going nearly eight years without reaching a major singles final, she has now reached two in six months.
She lost the Australian Open final in January to her younger sister, Serena Williams. This time, with Serena at home in Florida expecting her first child, Venus will face Garbiñe Muguruza, a 2015 Wimbledon finalist who is seeded just 14th here. But Muguruza has punched high above her seeding, displaying the level of intensity and consistency that once earned her the hashtag #muguruthless — though it has been missing of late.
“Muguruza is playing very well,” Witt said. “But Venus is feeling pretty confident coming out of this match with Konta, and I really think if she plays the way she’s been playing, I don’t see Muguruza beating her.”
Williams is a champion who continues to do things her way. As usual, she did not play a warm-up tournament on grass before Wimbledon, and less than two weeks before the tournament, Williams made a round trip from Florida to Sydney to attend a business conference.
“Recharging your batteries by flying around the world is not something I would recommend,” said Martina Navratilova, the nine-time Wimbledon singles champion, before the tournament. “But clearly she thought she was OK. Maybe it was a nice kind of mental break from other things.”
Williams clearly has had pressing concerns on her mind, above all a fatal traffic collision in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on June 9 that led to the death of 78-year-old Jerome Barson, a passenger in a vehicle that hit Williams’ car. Williams has not been charged in the episode, but Barson’s daughter has filed a wrongful-death suit against Williams.
Williams was initially declared at fault in the crash, but the Palm Beach Gardens police later said she had in fact legally entered the intersection where the collision
occurred. The investigation is continuing, and Williams has not addressed the episode since she cried while discussing it in a news conference after her firstround match. But Price said the latest police statement had been reassuring to Venus and the Williams family.
“It’s still unfortunate and tragic; the gentleman did lose his life,” Price said. “But you never want something like that to be your fault. An accident is just that: an accident. You don’t want that to be on your chest at all because it’s so heavy regardless, so, yeah, I think the mood around the camp has lifted.”
Williams, terse and subdued early in the tournament, has become more expressive, and the smile that appeared after she finished off Konta did not disappear until she had walked off court.