By Payton Brooks
You could probably call the Williams' family the first family of women's tennis. With both Venus Williams and her younger sister Serena Williams the winners of multiple Grand Slam tournaments, both sisters training under the guidance of their father and the face that both are well ranked within the competitive field of women's tennis, it's little wonder that the two often come face to face in final matches (and that, from time to time, they play side by side in doubles' final matches).
That's what has happened at the Wimbledon championships a number of times. Venus Williams and her younger sister Serena came face to face on the center court for the finals at Wimbledon this year - in 2008 - and many people wondered about the potential outcome of the match. A big reason for the curiosity that many felt about whether Venus or Serena Williams would take the championship is simple: since 2001 when the sisters met in the 2001 US Open final when Venus Williams won the match, younger sister Serena had held all of the power on the course.
While approaching the match at Wimbledon this year, both Venus and Serena Williams appeared to have some anxiety about the play that was going to take place. Based on the amount of time that they've spent training and competing, its little wonder that, soon after the final match at Wimbledon began, both Venus and Serena entered into the match with the desire to win; both sisters approached the match in a fully competitive mindset.
Early in the match, it appeared that Serena Williams was going to have the advantage over her older sister. Her serve came on more powerfully and she seemed to rev into a higher gear quickly; on the flip side of the coin - or in this case the flip side of the court - Venus Williams seemed to struggle, at least initially. All it took, however, for her to get into the game and to regain her focus in the match was to make a few great returns. Power of the match, of course, volleyed back and forth across the net in much the same way that the ball did - until Venus Williams went on to break serve.
While Serena Williams never backed down and continued to do all that she could to reclaim the match, it seemed as though once Venus Williams had a taste of the possibility of success she was unwilling to back down. Though no one wanted the match to end after Venus Williams'' match point in the second set, the reality is that the excitement of this competition was one that hasn't often been matched in Wimbledon history.
Both Venus Williams and her younger sister Serena approached the match hoping to come out on top; it is a tribute to their familial bond that, after the end of the Wimbledon women's finals, Venus not only celebrated her championship but also consoled her younger sister on the loss that had just taken place on center court.
Payton Brooks is a senior sports writer at Sportsview. Read and rate more free articles like this one, create your own sports and challenge others at Sportsview, the biggest sports social network.
Source:www.isnare.com |
