Seven-time
grand slam champion, Venus Williams crashes out of the ongoing French Open for
the first time in 12 years. Could this mean that the end of her career is near?
Ebony
Star, Venus Williams was rated World No 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis
Association, WTA on three separate occasions. She became the World No. 1 for
the first time on February 25, 2002, becoming the first African American woman
to achieve this feat during the Open Era.
Her
seven Grand Slam titles tie her for the twelfth time on the all time list and
was more than any other active female player except for her younger sister,
Serena Williams.
But
things seem not to be going on well for the 32-year-old American who is
presently ranked World No. 32 in singles as of May 27, 2013. At the ongoing
French Open in Paris, France, Venus was sent parking by 40th ranked Polish, Urszula
Radwanska in the 1st Round.
This
is Venus Williams earliest French Open exit in 12 years, she was defeated when
she lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-4.
Venus
has only once suffered a first-round exit at Roland Garros, back in 2001 when
she was defeated by Barbara Schett.
Troubled
by a back injury in recent weeks, the 30th-seeded American had mounted a
stirring comeback in the second-set tiebreak, clawing her way back from 0-4
down to reel off seven points in succession.
But
the effort was too much for the veteran as Radwanska, the younger sister of
world No.4 Agnieszka, took the tie on a second match point to make the last 64
for the second year in succession.
Coincidentally,
Urszula Radwanska also crashed out at the French Open after beating Venus
Williams; hence she won't have the opportunity to also face the younger sister,
Serena or even her senior sister, No. 4-seeded Agnieszka. She lost by 6-3, 6-3
to German qualifier Dinah Pfizenmaier.
Urszula
lost five of the first six games against the 127th-ranked Pfizenmaier, who
finished with a 33-6 edge in winners in her third career Grand Slam match.
Urszula has never made it past the second round in 13 appearances at Grand Slam
tournaments.
After
the 3-hour, 19-minute match, filled with ebbs and flows, a reporter asked
whether it crossed the 32-year-old Williams' mind that this might have been the
final French Open of her career but Venus answered, “If it's the last match,
I'll let you know. That's pretty much how it works.”
Still
adjusting to living with an energy-sapping autoimmune disease she revealed in
August 2011, Williams now has two first-round losses in the past four Grand
Slam tournaments. Her defeat at Wimbledon last June was the first time she had
left a major championship that early since she lost in the first round of the
Australian Open six and a half years earlier.
“With
what I have gone through, it is not easy. But I'm strong and I'm a fighter. You
know, I don't think I'm just playing for me now. I think I'm playing for a lot
of people who have not felt well. I think for me today it is a positive to be
able to play three hours,” the American said.
Inflammation
in her lower back limited Williams to two matches over the previous one and a
half months.
“I
can't really serve very hard. It is painful when I do that. But I'm getting
better. I just, you know, ran out of time to get better for this tournament,”
Venus said.
The
elder Williams sister broken 11 of the 17 times she served on Sunday. “My
strategy was more or less to put the ball in, and that is very difficult for
me, too, because that is not who I am. But that is all I had.”
But
it ended with one last miscue by Venus, her 66th unforced error, a backhand
dumped into the net.
“I'm
just trying to handle defeats better, because it is no fun having a bad
attitude about it. So I try to move on. It helps if you had some wins in the
past, too. Those keep you warm at night. I have a lot of wins under my belt
that help me feel better,” she said.
This
result came a year after she lost in the second round at Roland Garros to
Radwanska's older sister, Agnieszka, the 2012 Wimbledon runner-up.
Meanwhile,
Urszula said she was well prepared for the match against Venus. “Yeah, of
course, I was talking with Aga about Venus. I was well-prepared for this match,
and I knew she was a great fighter, so I should be focused the whole match.”
Incidentally,
Venus was ousted 12 months after her younger sister Serena, who owns 15 Grand
Slam titles, was upset in the first round at Roland Garros.
Venus
was one of two seeded players knocked out Sunday: No. 11 Nadia Petrova of
Russia was beaten by Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Otherwise,
results went to form, with 17-time major champion Roger Federer picking up a
6-2, 6-2, 6-3 victory over a guy making his Grand Slam debut, Pablo Carreno
Busta of Spain, while No. 4 David Ferrer, No. 14 Milos Raonic of Canada and No.
18 Sam Querrey of the United Sates also were among the winners.
Ana
Ivanovic, the 2008 champion, and Sara Errani, the 2012 runner-up, advanced in
straight sets in the women's draw.
The
Williams sisters helped change the way women's tennis was played in the late
1990s and early 2000s, with 120 mph serves, stinging forehands and fantastic
court coverage. They faced each other in eight Grand Slam finals, including the
2002 French Open, which Serena won.
Neither
Williams has enjoyed much success in Paris after that championship match, where
the clay tends to dull the strength of their swings and the footing can give
them problems. Venus hasn't been past the quarterfinals since 2002, while
Serena hasn't passed since 2003.
“I
just keep trying, and it hasn't been working out for me,” Serena, who is ranked
and seeded No. 1, said after stretching her career-best winning streak to 25
matches.
Meanwhile,
the two Williams sisters, Serena and Venus pulled out of doubles at the French
Open before playing a match.
The
sisters were supposed to compete in that event at Roland Garros for the first
time since 2010 after receiving a wild card from the tournament but they
withdrew Wednesday.
Venus
said she was bothered by pain in her back during a three-set loss in singles
Sunday. Serena is into the third round of singles. They have won a total of 13
Grand Slam trophies in women's doubles, including at the French Open in 1999
and 2010.
The
sisters have played in only one doubles tournament this season, losing to
eventual champions Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in the Australian Open
quarterfinals in January.
Venus
Williams' titles consist of: seven in singles, thirteen in women's doubles, and
two in mixed doubles. She is one of only four women in the open era to have won
five or more Wimbledon singles titles and amongst only five women in the open
era to win 200 or more main draw Grand Slam singles matches.
 |
| With sister, Serena (left) |
Williams
won four Olympic gold medals, one in singles and three in women's doubles. She
and her sister Serena have won more Olympic gold medals than any other female
tennis player. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Williams became only the second
player to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same
Olympic Games, after Helen Wills Moody in 1924.
With
44 career singles titles, Williams, along with her sister Serena, lead active
players on the WTA Tour. Her 35-match winning streak from the 2000 Wimbledon
Championships to the 2000 Generali Ladies Linz tournament final is the longest
winning streak since January 1, 2000. She is also one of only three active WTA
players to have made the finals of all four Grand Slams, the other players
being her sister Serena Williams and Russian Maria Sharapova.
Between
2003 and 2006, injuries plagued Venus’ career, In February, she won the
Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium defeating Kim Clijsters in the
final. However, shortly afterwards, she began to struggle with injury. She
reached the final of the clay-court J&S Cup in Warsaw, before being forced
to retire against Amélie Mauresmo. She then suffered her earliest exit at a
Grand Slam tournament in two years when she lost in the fourth round of the
French Open to Vera Zvonareva.
Wimbledon
was Williams' last event of the year as an abdominal injury that occurred
during the Clijsters match prevented her from playing again. While she was
recovering from the injury, her sister Yetunde Price was murdered. Williams
finished the year ranked world no. 11. It was the first time in nearly six
years that she had dropped out of the top 10. Venus thereafter suffered more
injuries and losses and has been unable to return to her former form.
Sports
analysts are however optimistic that the American tennis star might be forced
to hang her rackets anytime from now if the same dismay performance continues
especially in her subsequent games. Could this mean that the end is near for
the seven-time Grand Slam title holder?
Born
June 17, 1980 (age 32) Lynwood, California
Height
1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight
72.5 kg (159.8 lbs)
Turned
professional in October 31, 1994
Plays
Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize
money - US$28,674,658 (2nd in overall earnings)
Singles
Career
record 632–160 (80.3%)
Career
titles 44 (7th in overall
rankings)
Highest
ranking No. 1 (25 February 2002)
Current
ranking No. 32 (May 27, 2013)
Grand
Slam Singles results
Australian
Open - F (2003)
French
Open - F (2002)
Wimbledon
- W (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008)
US
Open - W (2000, 2001)
Other
tournaments
Championships
-W (2008)
Olympic
Games - Gold Medal (2000)
Doubles
Career
record 166–25
Career
titles 20
Highest
ranking No. 1 (June 7, 2010)
Current
ranking No. 27 (May 27, 2013)
Grand
Slam Doubles results
Australian
Open W (2001, 2003, 2009, 2010)
French
Open W (1999, 2010)
Wimbledon
W (2000, 2002, 2008, 2009,2012)
US
Open W (1999, 2009)
Other
Doubles tournaments
Olympic
Games - Gold Medal (2000, 2008,2012)
Mixed
Doubles
Career
record 25–6 (80.6%)
Career
titles 2
Grand
Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian
Open - W (1998)
French
Open - W (1998)
Wimbledon
- F (2006)
US
Open - QF (1998)
Competitor
for the USA
Gold
2000 Sydney - Singles
Gold
2000 Sydney - Doubles
Gold
2008 Beijing - Doubles
Gold
2012 London - Doubles
Additional agency report
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