Venus reveals secret debt to Morigami
Steve Griffiths
Venus Williams admits her seemingly unstoppable march towards a sixth
Wimbledon title is being driven by the painful memory of the last time
she dropped a set at the All England Club.
When Venus walks on court for her fourth round clash against Ana
Ivanovic, the defending champion will be bidding to extend her winning
streak on the south-west London grasscourts to 18 matches. Even more
remarkable than that run, which stretches back to her defeat against
Jelena Jankovic in 2006, is Venus’s record of winning 29 consecutive
sets dating back to a third round match against Japan’s Akiko Morigami
in 2007.
Morigami is the last player to seriously threatened Venus’s reign as
the queen of Wimbledon.
Although the Japanese eventually lost 6-2 3-6 7-5, she came within
touching distance of eliminating the America after taking a 5-3 lead in
the final set. In a match played over two days due to rain, Williams got
into trouble with 14 double faults and 42 unforced errors but emerged
unscathed thanks to her bloody-minded refusal to accept defeat.
“That was an intense match and she was playing so well,” Venus
recalled. “She played low groundstrokes. I just remember playing very
aggressive from 3-5, just returning aggressively.
“When the chips are down, I start to force the issue even more.
Usually it works. You live and learn. I attribute it to that match.”
The way she ground out that win showed Venus that no situation is
completely hopeless and she has never looked back. Two successive
Wimbledon titles followed and a third is well within her reach.
If she does lift the aptly named Venus Rosewater Dish again this
year, Venus will become the first woman to complete a hat-trick of
Wimbledon title since Steffi Graf in 1993.
She would also move within one title of Graf’s total of seven and
within three of record holder Martina Navratilova. Yet Venus insists
thoughts of writing her name in the Wimbledon history books rarely
entered her head.
“No, I don’t think about it. But each one that I can manage to get,
it’s all mine, that’s the good part about it,” she said.”
To achieve her goal this year, Venus will have to get past former
French Open champion Ivanovic, the 13th seed, who she defeated easily in
the 2007 semi-finals.
“We had a lot of great exchanges. I just remember playing
aggressively,” Venus said of that match.
“Obviously she’s talented. I think this is a good surface for her. As
far as her game she does everything well.
“I definitely feel calm and I know what I need to execute on the
court. I feel good.”
LONDON, Sunday, AFP
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