Back to reality after the Olympics

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Oct 6, 2000

GOLDEN GIRLS
And we all thought things could not get better for Venus Williams on the tennis court! Just as we wondered whether her season could get any brighter, it did. Fortunately for Venus, it got brighter at the biggest sporting event of all, the Sydney Olympic Games, where she did her country proud to bring home the gold twice - one in singles and one in doubles with sister Serena.

With Venus's white-hot form since the French Open, she was seen as the favourite to win the gold medal. With Lindsay Davenport's injury withdrawal, she pretty much became an odds-on bet to win, the only question being who would take home the silver and the bronze. Patronising it may sound, but who can deny a player who has not lost a single match since the French Open her dues? Many have named her the de-facto #1 player in the world, and while the rankings may not show it at the end of the year, the players know who the player to beat for 2001 will be. Certainly, if (or when) she reaches the #1 spot next year, she will have earned it with two Grand Slam singles crowns on her record. And now to top it all of, she is a dual Olympic gold medallist.

The funny thing is that Venus probably wasn't playing all that well to win the gold medal. Reminiscent of her form at the US Open, Venus looked incredibly shaky off her second serve throughout the entire Olympic event but still managed to pull out the big serves and the power groundstrokes on the big points. It was her serve which let her down in her quarter final and semi final matches against Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Monica Seles respectively, but despite the 'handicap', she still managed to gut out the victories - testament to the fighting spirit the true champions possess.

Affirming Billie Jean King's controversial decision to select Serena Williams as the doubles player over former #1 Lisa Raymond, the Williams sisters went out and won the gold medal in the doubles competition, blitzing the field including a 6-1 6-1 demolition of the Dutch pair Kristie Boogert and Miriam Oremans in the gold medal match. It must be tough being a professional tennis player. It must be an even tougher feat to face the Williams sisters in singles or doubles. It doesn't look like there is much hope for the rest of the field, especially now that the Williams sisters are starting to take tennis more seriously, have started to work out the kinks in their technique and have become less error-prone. What's more, many commentators believe that the Williams sisters have unlocked only about 60-70% of their true ability. Scary, but true. So much power, speed, agility, stamina, courage and determination they possess, the Williams sisters have it all and when all those factors click together at the same time, I don't think there is anyone who can stop them.

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