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 "My first job is big sister," Venus Williams said today as she celebrated her fifth Wimbledon title (and held up the aptly named Venus Rosewater Plate).
Well, today big sister looked out for herself. Despite falling behind by a break of serve early in both sets, Venus played a clean match and took advantage of almost every opportunity Serena gave her while Serena squandered far too many chances. Venus' consistency and toughness were even more remarkable considering the wind that whipped through Centre Court all afternoon. The gusts were strong and unpredictable, sometimes blowing across the court, other times the length of it, other times swirling in circles. To my mind, the wind favored Serena's game: She's a more solid player (she's less prone to wild ground strokes) and has a much smoother and simpler service motion with a lower, steadier toss and a more consistent delivery (Venus has a "funky toss," Serena said). Venus, to her credit, remained patient and ignored the elements as best she could.
Venus and Serena had played six major finals before this match and Serena had won five of them, including their only two at Wimbledon. I came away from Serena's five victories with the same conclusion: Both sisters hate to lose, but Serena hates it more. She has always been the more willful player, the more relentlessly competitive player (I say this not to detract from Venus, but to emphasize Serena's unrivaled determination). After a loss, Serena is always sour (today's post-match press conference was no exception). Venus can't help but continue to smile. Serena fumes, Venus lets go.
These differences in personality have favored Serena in past meetings and I thought they would work to Serena's advantage today, too. But could they counteract the distinct advantage Venus has on grass? Venus' game is more explosive than Serena's. She has a harder serve, better volleys, more speed, more quickness, a longer reach, more agility, and maybe most important of all, more aptitude for creative shot making, like the winning backhand volley she hit in the third game of the match yesterday when little sister lined up a backhand and rocketed the ball toward her big sister's belly. When Venus has too much time to consider her options, she often tenses up and commits ghastly errors. When someone like her sister, or a grooved Lindsay Davenport (in the 2005 final) is drilling the ball at Venus on grass, however, she simply reacts, a does it better than anyone else in the game. Most players suffer when you take time away from them. Venus thrives.
I came to this match thinking over these two opposing forces--Serena's psychological advantage against Venus' superior grass court skills--and early on it looked like Serena would carry the day. She took command of the match from the start (superior strokes and superior attitude) and won the first two games while losing one point. When Venus served at 30-40 down 3-1, she was on the verge of losing not just the set, but her confidence. Her athleticism saved her. She brought the game to deuce with a stretch volley winner and hustled her way to a lucky let cord winner on the next point. Venus soon broke serve to square the set at 4-4. Suddenly, the sisters were playing the match Venus wanted to play: Lots of side-to-side rallies that left Serena winded, intermittent attacks on the net that favored Venus' volleys, and serving that relied on brute force more than placement. Venus served almost a third of her serves into Serena's body ("Body is my favorite here: You can't defend it," she said), a tactic that gave her a lot of short returns to punish. Serena continued to favor wide and down-the-middle serves and after a while, her long-limbed sister began returning them with more force. Serena needed seven break points to win the third game of the second set (she converted only 2 of 13 for the match). Venus needed just one break point to return the favor (she converted 4 of 7). A few games later, the Queen of grass put the match away.
A few words on the quality of this match, ever a subject of interest when the Williams sisters play. Under normal circumstances, I'd give this match an A- (thoroughly entertaining, but three sets would have been better). But the wind changes the grading scale here, so I'll give it an A+. The conditions, again, bordered on terrible. It's incredible that these two players were able to play so aggressively, and with so few errors, under these circumstances. They drilled ball after ball. They served with power and precision. They hit astonishing reflex volleys. It was the Williams sisters at their best and without a doubt my favorite of their many matches. It also must be said that the fix wasn't in--you knew that from the early going when Serena attempted that body blow. (Take that, Elena Dementieva!)
Before this tournament began, there was one thing Venus Williams had not achieved at Wimbledon: She hadn't beaten her sister--the best player of her era other than Venus--in the final. Now she has. She is, without doubt, the best grass court player of her generation. When the sisters finally do retire, Serena may be remembered as the better overall player. But Wimbledon will always belong to Venus.
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