Saturday, 7 July, 2007
Venus Williams revealed as she celebrated her fourth Wimbledon title that the only trophy she keeps next to her bed is from the 2005 Championships when she beat Lindsay Davenport in the final for her third singles title.
She said: “I would not give up any of the other wins, of course. [Today’s] win is so much different from the others because the other ones I felt like I was playing in The Championship from match one. Here I really had to focus on my game, overcome a lot of challenges, including obviously being seeded low, those kind of things. All in all, it’s wonderful.
"But the last time I won, it was a really outrageous way to win. I keep that trophy by my bed. That’s the only one I keep close to me. That one if so special because there were so many people who said I wouldn't do it, couldn’t do it, wrote me off and said I wouldn't win again.” The same might have been said at the start of this year’s Championships when Venus struggled to win her early matches. But she is a fighter, particularly on grass. “This is obviously a great surface for me,” he said. “I think I know how to play this surface. I feel like I know when to play it high and when to play it low. I know pretty much how the ball is going to bounce. So obviously if there is a surface to pick. grass at Wimbledon is not a bad choice.”
Asked if she was mentally prepared to play Justine Henin in the final and then had to change plans for Marion Bartoli, she said: “No. not at all. What was important was that I was in the finals and that's the one thing I could control. And, second, no match is a given, especially at a grand slam. Nothing is given to you. You have got to go ahead and take it. So obviously Marion stepped it up and knew what she was doing. I guess it was a little bad luck for Justine.
"Obviously I feel fantastic. My sixth slam, I want some more. My main goal is definitely to stay fit. I worked hard. There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. I started preparing slowly but surely in January. You start getting back on the court and hitting balls. I finally got to play in February.
"It's been a process, a step by step of getting healthier and stronger, just being able to get physically back to where I was. In the beginning of the year, I wasn't strong enough to do that."
Written by Barry Newcombe
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