Wimbledon is only a day old, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that we’ve already heard the deepest quote we’re going to hear from a player all fortnight.
The philosophical nugget came courtesy of No. 8 seed Venus Williams, after her 7-6(3), 6-4 win over Donna Vekic.
“I don’t think anyone feels older,” the ever-optimistic Williams said. “You have this infinity inside of you that feels like it could go on forever.”
If any player knows about the ageing process, and how to defy it, it’s Venus. At 36, she’s the oldest player in the women’s draw, and this is the 71st major tournament of her 20-year career, the most of any active pro. Yet Venus remains on the shortlist of women who could, conceivably, if a few bounces and net-cords go her way, contend for the title.
She has, just in case you’ve forgotten, done it five times before. As the No.8 seed here, she has a manageable path to the quarter-finals. And she has been rounding into shape for her favorite event of all, the Olympics, next month in Rio. There Williams will become the first tennis player, along with Roger Federer, to take part in the Games five times.
Williams has lasted long enough that she’s begun to face opponents who have never known what tennis was like without her.
Vekic, 19, had just turned 4 when Williams won Wimbledon for the first time, in 2000. This was the Croat’s first meeting with Venus, and she looked like someone who understood she was up against a legend.
Vekic was the better player for stretches; she powered the ball past a sometimes-sluggish Venus from the baseline, and twice reached set point in the first set. But she couldn’t convert, and Williams, perhaps sensing her opponent’s nerves, was content to let the younger player hit herself out of the critical first-set tiebreaker. When it was over, Venus, who was sporting a new braided bouffant complete with red highlights, twirled off to loud applause from the capacity crowd in Court 1.
“You’ve got to live in the moment,” she said.
You've got to live in the moment
Across the grounds on Court 2, No. 10 seed Madison Keys may have heard the cheers for her countrywoman.
But nothing distracted the 21-year-old today. Keys had lost to her opponent, 41st-ranked Laura Siegemund, on clay in Charleston earlier this year, and she wasn’t going to allow a repeat performance on grass. Keys blew past the German in a hurry, 6-3, 6-1. The barrage of winners she unleashed may have reminded some veteran Wimbledon-goers of the way Venus Williams used to win matches there when she was at her brusque best 15 years ago.
Keys also doesn’t remember a time in tennis without the Williams sisters. The story goes that Keys first showed an interest in the sport at age 4, when she watched Venus at Wimbledon and told her parents that she wanted a dress like hers. It’s an inspiration that continues today. Keys has said that Venus’s enthusiasm for the Olympics is part of the reason she’s motivated to make it to Rio.
“Hopefully I get to be a part of that team, and get to see her fifth Olympics happen,” Keys told The Post and Courier in Charleston this spring.
Keys’ wish seems sure to be granted; last week, with her run to the title in Birmingham, she became the first U.S. woman to debut in the top 10 since Serena Williams in 1999. That’s a stunningly long drought for a country that has produced so many top WTA players in the past. But Keys says she has no interest in stopping there.
“I didn’t know it had been so many years since an American woman did that,” Keys said on Monday. “I was really excited for about three minutes, and then I was like, ‘I have to focus on the final tomorrow.’”
Keys knows that for tennis fans in the U.S., Venus and Serena Williams have set a high standard. The highest, in fact; anything less than No. 1, and fans in the States will complain that, “U.S. tennis is in decline.” Keys also knows that her talent—no one in the WTA hits a forehand as hard as she does—should keep her moving upward. This year, Serena told Keys that she’s “going to be No. 1,” while another U.S. legend, Chris Evert, predicted that she’ll “win Wimbledon within the next five years.”
Could it happen sooner? Keys reached the quarterfinals at the All England Club last year, and, like Venus, she has a decent-looking draw in the bottom half. While her hot-and-cold style makes any future predictions a risk, Keys appears to be on a steadier path with new coach Thomas Hogstedt.
“Whenever I hear that,” Keys says of the talk about her becoming No. 1 someday, “I just want to kind of get out on the practice court and keep getting better.”
There’s one thing, it seems, that Keys can count on: Venus Williams, with all of her infinite wisdom, will be there to inspire her.
