World no. 1 Venus Williams…
2001 was an equally good year for Venus as she successfully defended her Wimbledon and US Open titles. The final contested at the US Open between Venus and Serena Williams marked the first occasion that two sisters were contesting a Grand Slam singles final in the Open era.
By capturing her 2nd US Open title on the trot, Venus became one of only six ladies to have won consecutive titles at both, Wimbledon and US Open. On February 25, 2002, Venus finally rose to the no. 1 ranking, but her stay at the top didn’t last for long as Jennifer Capriati soon took it back and the two would then exchange the top two slots till July that year.
But A Short Stay At The Top…
Venus reached her third consecutive Wimbledon final in 2002 but this time around, sister Serena defeated her to pocket her maiden Grand Slam. Serena had won the tournament without dropping a set and was at the peak of her powers having already won the French Open that year.
The win over Venus meant that Serena replaced her at the top of the rankings. Venus went on to win a few more Grand Slams after that but could never regain the World no. 1 ranking since then. Her total reign at the top lasted for only 11 weeks.
Relentless at SW19…
Venus always tended to reserve her best for the most prestigious tournament in the world, Wimbledon. After having won there in 2000 and 2001, she went onto win the titles in 2005, 2007 and 2008.
In the 2005 final against old foe Lindsay Davenport, Venus was down a match point before eventually prevailing over the fellow American. Also, she was seeded 14th in the tournament which made her the lowest seeded champion in the tournament history.
Bests Her Own Record…
Venus was truly at her best in 2007 again as she went on to better her own record at the Championships. She was ranked 31st and seeded 23rd going into the tournament but despite being only one game away from a 1st round loss, went on to win the tournament in grand style.
This was her fourth title at SW19 and she’d end up winning another one in the following year, this time defeating Serena Williams in straight sets in the final.
Record On Clay..
As is the case with most players comfortable on grass, Venus struggles on clay with the slow surface not giving much advantage to the American who relies on her powerful serves and extremely accurate volleys to set up points. In her career, Venus has made just one final appearance at Roland Garros in 2002, and since then faltered at the pre-quarter final stage or earlier in six of the eight appearances thereafter.
Unmatched Legacy To Tennis…
However, history will perhaps remember Venus more for her struggle to bring equality to the game than all her success at Wimbledon or for that matter, failure on clay. Despite the long standing struggle initiated by Billie Jean King to bring parity to tennis game, Wimbledon and French Open still refused to pay equally to the male and female players.
In 2005, Venus Williams met with tournament officials of both the majors but without success. However all that changed in 2006 and many felt that an essay written by Venus and published in ‘The Times’ just before the start of Wimbledon in 2006 proved to be the turning point.
The Officials Budge, Finally!
In response, the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair publicly endorsed her arguments and in the following year, Wimbledon under enormous public pressure announced that it would award equal prize money to both, the male and female players across all rounds. A day later, officials at the French Open followed suit.
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