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One streak ends while another one begins

© Michael Cecilio

It’s all over! Venus Williams’s complete domination of the Sanex WTA Tour is finally over. For the first time since the French Open this year, Venus experienced what it was like to finish second on the tennis court. For 35 straight matches, 3rd ranked Venus Williams walked off the court in victorious jubilation. It ended on the 36th match.

2nd ranked Lindsay Davenport has the distinction of ending Venus’s winning streak, the longest winning streak on the tour since Martina Hingis’s epic run of 37 straight matches in 1997. Having suffered three previous defeats to Williams during the streak of wins, and having gone down fairly decisively each time, it was quite surprising that Lindsay Davenport was the one to finally conquer the Williams winning machine. Each of Venus’s victories over Lindsay had been in finals, including the Wimbledon and the US Open finals, and each time had been a straight sets encounter. However there is no one on the tour who strikes the ball better than Lindsay Davenport and in the Linz final, she was not to be outdone, beating her rival 6-4 3-6 6-2.

The Linz final was more than just the end of a winning streak on Venus’s part. It also allowed Lindsay to get the monkey off her back. Surprisingly, the world #2 had not won a single tournament since April in Indian Wells. Since her injuries in Miami the week after Indian Wells, Lindsay had been struggling to come back time and time again this season as the physical demands took their toll on her. With her body ailing, her confidence suffered and it caused her demise against lesser players this season. Dominique van Roost and Anna Kournikova were two who got the better of a less-than-her-best Davenport, while girls outside the Top 20 such as Jana Kandarr and Elena Likhovtseva were close to toppling the towering American themselves over the summer.

Lindsay was touted as the unofficial #1 in the beginning of the season having decisively won the Australian Open and engaging in her own winning streak where she won 21 straight matches. It looks like Lindsay is starting to get back into the game shape that she was in just earlier in the year when she herself was dominating the field. She had come close to her best form by reaching the finals in Los Angeles, the US Open and in Zurich but could not capitalise on any leads that she amassed and seemingly faltered at the last hurdle. With the game back, the attitude back and the mental strength back, Lindsay is certainly in contention for a tremendous season finisher.

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