By Art Spander
WIMBLEDON, England — She won a match Wednesday, beat a woman, Kurumi Nara, even lower in the rankings than she is. Venus Williams kept herself in Wimbledon and kept the doubters at a distance, neither of which is a small task.
Williams was 34 a few days ago. That’s ancient in tennis. Her 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory in a match that began just after 11:30 a.m. put her into the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2013 Australian Open, a span of six events.
She still can bring it, but probably against women who never brought it.
These are strange times for Venus, who sits at No. 31 in the WTA standings — sister Serena is first — and is beset by an autoimmune disorder, Sjogren’s syndrome, that causes fatigue.
She keeps playing competitively, which is both admirable and perplexing. Watching her get bumped out of the Australian Open in the first round or the French Open in the second becomes unsettling.
We remember the way it was and cringe at the way it is.
Not that Venus or any other athlete is required to please us, if she can please herself.
Chris Evert, as the years grew and her placement in the rankings declined, asked rhetorically what was wrong with just reaching the semifinals or the quarters. All Evert knew was tennis. All Venus knows is tennis.
A week ago, the concern in sports was Lucy Li. Some insisted the 11-year-old from Northern California was too young to play in the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship. Now we worry about Venus Williams being too old to play tennis.
Venus called her victory “a step in the right direction,” although her game, a victim of time and Sjogren’s, has been going in the wrong direction.
Twenty years she’s been at it, reaching the summit, winning the titles. A long time, a far distance, reasons to remember the past more than to consider the future.
It was a cool evening in Oakland, almost 20 years ago, Halloween night 1994, when a 14-year-old from Compton with beads in her hair faced pros from the WTA in her debut. Venus beat Shaun Stafford, who predicted, “She’s going to be great for women’s tennis.” That Williams lost the next match to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario didn’t matter a bit.
So many possibilities. So much excitement. Now, so many questions, most dismissed by Venus, who at times acts and talks as if nothing has changed from the golden era of victories at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open.
Asked if she even considered the match against Nara could be her last singles ever at Wimbledon, Williams was perturbed. “No,” she said, “I definitely don’t think that way. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”
An odd phrase, in a way, when she will not agree to a summing up of her career.
Derek Jeter can take his victory lap. Venus Williams is taking her time, lingering as long as possible in the only world she has known since a teenager.
It’s basically one Williams in the spotlight, Serena, who is 32 but the tournament’s No. 1 seed. Venus is out there on the fringe, being questioned on what it’s like when she and Serena both are in the second week of major championship, as once they were.
“I think we motivate each other,” said Venus. “We want to see each other win. I guess I haven’t held up my end of the bargain. I tried. I just haven’t had the luck I wanted.”
Without the Sjogren’s, for which she was diagnosed in 2011, she’s a better player. However, tennis is a sport of the young, and healthy or not, a 34-year-old is at a disadvantage. The kid across the net has the reflexes you used to have. Perception is no substitute for reaction.
“Wisdom has served me well,” countered Venus when reminded of her age. “I’ve worn my sunscreen, so I haven’t aged terribly. My knees are very tight, not saggy. And the crow’s feet have been kept at bay. So I’ll give myself an A-plus.”
She looks fine. It’s her tennis that’s saggy, not the knees. Still, she’s not prepared to surrender to any opponent, including Father Time.
“I don’t like watching it on TV,” she said when asked what keeps her going. “I want to be out there. I’m not about the easy thing. Life is a challenge. For me, when I leave tennis, I want it to be on my own terms.
“I want to look back with no regrets. So far in my career I can do that. Everyone messes up. Everyone chokes. Everyone gets tight. Everyone loses matches they should have won. But as long as you walked out there and gave it your all, you can look back with no regrets.”
Yes, wisdom has served her well. Very well.
