Sunday, July 06, 2008

Badass of the Moment: Venus Williams


Venus Williams wins 5th Wimbledon titleActually go ahead and say both Williams sisters.

This week saw the Williams sisters battle their way down to an all-Williams final at Wimbledon. However, it was Venus who claimed her fifth Wimbledon title over younger sister, Serena, who still holds more major Grand Slam titles than her big sister, 8-7. Though criticized for sloppy matches when facing each other in the past, observers say the sisters were in rare form this past Saturday.

Venus defeated Serena in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4 in the final. Though Serena lead early on with a 4-2 game deficit, Venus went on a tremendous run winning five of the following six games to claim the first set. "I didn't want the same trend to keep happening," said Venus. "So I climbed a tiny little notch up. It's 2-5. Still behind, but I'm working on it." The victory marked the first time Venus defeated Serena in a Grand Slam final since the 2001 U.S. Open. According to ESPN, "this year marked the 10th anniversary of the Williams' first meeting in a Grand Slam tournament. Venus' Wimbledon title Saturday tied the series at 5-5."

There wasn't the usual exuberant celebration upon victory since the grand prize came at the expense of her sister. As well, during the match the crowd was more tranquil than usual possibly due to the inability to choose a Williams sister to support. Awkward moments of announcing were no help as official Carlos Ramos sometimes simply forgot to add the first name of the players, uttering "Advantage Miss Williams". Relatives, too, were reportedly subtle in their excitement. "That was a difficult one to watch," said their mother and coach, Oracene Price. "You feel happy that the one won it, but you feel so bad because there has to be a loser, too."

Serena frustrated against Venus in 2008 WimbledonLater that same day, the sisters returned to the same court to pair up as doubles contestants in the Wimbledon doubles finals. Together they bested Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur (6-2, 6-2) to clinch the women's doubles title. The Williams walked away with a collective payday of $2.5 million dollars and their seventh Grand Slam doubles championship.

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