US Open - Venus looks for US Open redemption

Eurosport - Thu, 27 Aug 09:17:00 2009

For a woman who honed her tennis skills on hard courts in California and Florida, the US Open has not been a happy hunting ground for Venus Williams since 2001.

TENNIS venus williams toronto - 0

That was the last time she picked up the prized silver trophy at Flushing Meadows and the 29-year-old has not claimed an outdoor hard court title of any kind on American soil since 2002.

No one is more surprised with the barren run than the world number three herself.

"Totally, but what can I say?" Williams said ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year which begins on Monday.

"Other than that things have gone pretty well. I'm grateful for all my good results and I've learned from my losses. I definitely want to move forward," she said.

Her lack of success on home territory is certainly startling as over the past few years she has taken her Wimbledon tally to five singles titles.

Williams also triumphed at the season-ending WTA Championships in Doha just nine months ago on a similar surface to the one they play on in New York.

Forever the optimist, Williams believes it is about time she ended her struggles at the US Open.

Williams won back-to-back US Open titles at the start of the decade, beating fellow American Lindsay Davenport in 2000 and her younger sister Serena in 2001.

But in 2008, Venus was unable to cash in on 10 set points against Serena and went down 7-6 7-6 in the quarter-finals.

She also relinquished her cherished Wimbledon crown to Serena last month when she came off second best in the final.

As she approaches her 30th birthday, Venus knows that she has only a handful of chances left to add to her haul of seven grand slam singles titles and is therefore not afraid to tinker with her game nearly 15 years after her professional debut.

While Venus is still fast and powerful, she has trouble blowing her opponents off the court from the baseline. In order to polish up her attack, she is trying to add a sliced backhand to her repertoire and also make better use of her giant wingspan at the net.

"I'm not stubborn, I like to update. I don't stick with the old. I like to try new things on court and new approaches to training," said Venus, whose most recent appearances in Cincinnati and Toronto ended with early round defeats.

"I have to take it as a positive that I will have more time to get ready for the Open. It's been a really busy summer for me so I'll just take advantage of these (early losses) and keep training and preparing for the Open."

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Reuters

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  1. Come on Venus back to number one soon i feel.Hope you­ do well at us open could we have an all williams final­ i hope not as i don't like the big headed­ Serena.Come on Vika JJ Elena Sveta Maria Amelie.

    From AJ, on Thu 27 Aug 4:34PM

  2. you people talk like Venus is in a wheelchair,she just­ bagelled the no.1 player in the world over a month­ ago.She is capable of playing well into her­ thirties,she is so unpredictable and is no.3 in the­ world.Vee is not geriatric like Mauresmo or Kimiki­ Date,she made Ana cry at Wimbledon and bagelled­ Dementieva recently,beat Sharapova convincingly.
    Venus­ has just been very busy lately finalising the deal for­ the Dolphins,playing WTT,running her company she is an­ employer,playing doubles and singles with her­ sister.She will comeback strong soon after some­ rest....

    From susan, on Thu 27 Aug 1:54PM

  3. Re-article above, "In order to polish up her­ attack, she is trying to add a sliced backhand to her­ repertoire and also make better use of her giant­ wingspan at the net." Finally, someone thinking­ outside the square. With 14 career Doubles titles to­ her name, 9 being in the Slams, it is no surprise­ seeing Venus trying to introduce more net play to her­ game and perhaps should have chosen to do so sooner.­ Her athleticism, height, powerful serve, good volleys,­ speed around the court and wide reach should make her a­ brick wall at the net, better still more like a block­ of flats. Adding a slice backhand to her game will­ definitely assist her attacking the net especially at­ Wimbledon. Slice keeps the ball low and forces­ opponents to hit the ball upwards. If Venus is going to­ be comming in at the net behind precise, deep, wide and­ low slices, GOD help her opponents. She has always been­ a smart player and must have realised that slogging it­ out from the baseline against her sister, Safina,­ Maria, Azarenka and now Kim on the scene, it would­ require tremendous amounts of energy. Given her age,­ the body requires longer periods of time to recover.­ Good net play will help to keep points short and reduce­ enegy expansion and add a new demention to her game. If­ she is successful in this, I expect many others to­ follow in her footsteps. Sounds like some excitting­ tennis comming up, I anxiously will be looking forward­ to how she performs. Good on you Venus, good luck!

    From Con, on Thu 27 Aug 11:52AM

  4. CONCENTRATION, CONCENTRATION, CONCENTRATION, IF YOU CAN­ REMEMBER THE GAME YOU PLAYED TO DEFEAT SHARAPOVA AND­ ELENA DEMENTIEVA IN TWO STRAIGHT SETS BEFORE LOSING TO­ BARTOLI, THEN THE US OPEN MIGHT JUST BE YOURS, I SEE­ YOU REPEATING WHAT YOU DID IN WIMBLEDON BECAUSE YOU­ WILL BE PLAYING TO MEET WITH SAFINA AT THE TOP OF THE­ DRAW, I JUST HOPE YOU CONCENTRATE AND NOT LOST AT THE­ EARLY ROUND, IF YOU CAN MAKE IT TO THE QUATERS WITHOUT­ MEETING SERENA WHO WILL DEFINETELY BE IN THE OTHER HALF­ OF THE DRAW THEN THE FINAL AND MAYBE THE US OPEN IS­ SURE BE YOURS.

    From stine147, on Thu 27 Aug 10:13AM

  5. I DO HOPE SHE DOES WELL, SHE HAS BROUGHT A LOT OF GREAT­ MATCHES TO THE TENNIS CIRCUIT, PEOPLE ARE QUICK TO RUN­ HER DOWN, HOWEVER WE ALL KNOW THAT IF SHE IS AT HER­ BEST SHE IS UNBEATABLE, CREDIT TO VENUS LONG MAY SHE­ STILL GRACE THE COURTS WITH HER POWER, I HAD THE CHANCE­ TO SEE HER LIVE, IT WAS A SIGHT TO BEHOLD,

    GOOD LUCK V­ WE LOVE YOU!!! X

    From Ian H, on Thu 27 Aug 9:44AM
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